Twist Of Love
by AK-tutti
Summary: Joined fic between Stessa and AKtutti. Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez are in the most popular group of their time, The Sweethearts, but when a guy comes between them, they split up. What will happen, when they meet again? Starts Troyella, ends Troypay
1. Chapter 1

_From AK-tutti; Ok, so here's the deal; this is the second time Stessa and I join for a fic, which we hope will be as well received as "One Word Is Enough". Both of us are quite hyper today, Stessa has just gotten Ashley T's CD, I'm really jealous of her. I tried to order her CD too and even from the same site (cos it's cheaper than the site I usually order CD's from), but of course you can only pay with credit card on that site, and just my luck my mom has no money on her, and I don't have one myself, soo.. I'm so upset by that, cos on the site, where she orders CD's, were some CD's, that I really want, but I can't get them on the site I use. Anyway, because of the stupid payment methods they use on that stupid site, I had to use the other site. So yeah, to make it as short as possible; I got JoJo - The High Road and Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts yesterday. Yay. I've been into the word warning label lately, so I'm gonna throw one in here (hoping that Stessa can live with it). So here's my warning label to you: This story will cause reasons to hate! So I just want to point out, that there will be no hating Stessa, cos this is my idea. That's actually why Stessa and I joined forces last time: I get the best idea and she is the best writer of the two of us. Have I mentioned, that I'm a mind reader? You guys are thinking: 'Get on with this story already, I haven't got all day!' And to that I have to say, when I first get started with talking, I have a hard time stopping. Are you sure you still want that rambling competition, Stessa?_

_From Stessa; Yup, I sure do, AK-tutti, I know you're gonna win, but ah… I'd love to lose to you then ;p And hey! I'll send you Ashley's songs over msn later, k? And about the whole idea/writing thingy. AK-tutti is lying. Maybe she gets the wonderful ideas, such as the title and the whole plot and everything, but really… we're equal good writers, got it? Don't believe a word she tells you about that… And uh; expect crazy authors notes from us, because we're that… crazy :D On with the story now…Sorry, one more thing: Uhm, AK-tutti pretty much wrote this chapter herself, because I'm wrapping up "Her Heartbeat" and then focusing on this story along with "Forbidden Beauty". _

_**Disclaimer; **Yes, we actually own High School Musical. Stessa invented the nail and I myself invented the 'read between the lines'-finger. What do you think?_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 1.**

MTV Music Awards, one of the best known music awards. It had just been announced, that Natasha Hamilton and Gary Barlow would be presenting the award of 'Best Band'.

As Natasha and Gary walked on stage, The Sweethearts linked their hands, they were nominated in this category. Sure, they had already won 'Best Pop Song' for their song 'Maybe I'm Right', but 'Best Band' was a bigger deal.

"This is so exciting, it's the first time ever, that I'm presenting an award at MTV Music Awards." Natasha said, when her and Gary reached centre of the stage, "And that I get to do it with one of my biggest idols is just the dot above the i. Are you guys excited too?" The crowd went wild and screamed insanely. "I will take that as a yes! Are you ready to find out, who's the 'Best Band'?"

More screams.

"So are we. In this envelope we have the name of the band, but first we have to check the nominees." Gary continued, holding up the envelope, "The nominees for 'Best Band' are:"

_My Chemical Romance (_a clip of My Chemical Romance's latest music video was shown.)

Cheers.

_Girls Aloud_ (a clip of Girls Aloud's latest music video was shown.)

Cheers

_The Sweethearts _(a clip of The Sweethearts latest music video for their song 'Back In Your Heart' was shown.)

Cheers

_Gorillaz _(a clip of Gorillaz's latest music video was shown.)

Cheers

_Atomic Kitten (let's just say, that they are back together, when this story takes place, k'?) _(a clip of Atomic Kitten's latest music video was shown.)

Cheers

"Don't you think, that's a woman's job?" Natasha asked, when Gary was about to open the envelope. He politely handed her the envelope, "Thank you. And the winner is..."

When she had opened the envelope, she just stood there for 30 seconds or so. She knew the suspense would be too much for everybody, so she wanted to tease them for a little while.

"THE SWEETHEARTS!"

At the news of being the best band, Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans's mouths dropped. They screamed and hugged each other. They then looked around, taking their time to adjust to the news, that they were the best band. When they had done that, they screamed and hugged again. When they were done hugging, they went on stage to receive their award.

People couldn't stop cheering.

On stage they received their award from Gary, whom they also gave a hug. Afterwards they turned to Natasha and gave her a hug as well.

It was like they were high on joy, that they couldn't tell up from down. They spun around on stage looking for the mic, that they were too 'high' to notice. Finally, Sharpay got her eyes on it and grabbed Gabriella, together they walked over to the mic.

"Woooow!" Gabriella began all shaky. She had a smile from ear to ear, enjoying the moment on stage just looking at her and Sharpay's fans, "Woooow! I know, I've already said that, but really... There are no words to describe the joy, that we are feeling right now. We didn't expect this, since it is our first year in this business. We just assumed a band more experienced would get this award, that's why we're so, like, 'really?', y'know? Sharpay?"

"Um. I really don't know what to say," Sharpay said, letting a tear of joy slip down her cheek, with a smile as big as Gabriella's on her face, "I think it's about time we thank some people. First of, we'd like to thank our manager, for being the incredible guy that he is, and for believing in us at all times, without him we wouldn't be where we are today. We'd also like to thank everybody, that we've worked with the past year, cos you're all amazing. Our fans, we love you guys. Without you, Gabriella and I would just be two regular girls from New Mexico, so thank you so much. We also want to thank our families, of course."

"And God. Don't forget God, Shar!" Gabriella interrupted, cheerfully. She seemed comfortable with the situation, now that she'd had about a minute to get used to it, "She meant to thank God too. Uh, and coffee. We gotta thank coffee for helping us stay awake all those long hours."

"I don't drink coffee." Sharpay said, giggling a little at Gabriella's reaction to all this. "But speaking of helping us stay awake all those long hours, I'd like to thank my bed and my showerhead. There's nothing like a hot shower to wake you up."

"And coffee!"

After that, they said 'thank you' in unison and left the stage with their award. People were still cheering, clapping and whatever comes with that. You just name it.

--

_I want to be back in your heart_

_But I don't know how and where to start_

_I won't be starting another fight_

_It's just a stupid excuse to run and hide_

_But I ran further and further away_

_Just to realise I need you in my life everyday_

_No more lies, it's just you and I_

_Let me back in your heart_

The Sweethearts - Back In Your Heart was playing at the celebration party held at the manager's house. They'd went there straight after the award show, Gabriella and Sharpay were amazed by how many, that had shown up for the party.

Gabriella and Sharpay took over the dance floor and did the dance routine from the song. As they were dancing, their manager approached them with a woman, most likely his wife.

"Gabi, Shar, this is my wife, Lucille," Their manager yelled over the loud music and gestured to the woman, who's hand he was holding, "Lucille, these amazing girls are Gabriella and Sharpay, The Sweethearts."

Lucille shook hands with Gabriella and Sharpay. Sharpay was the first to speak; "So, you're married to Mr. B? He's said so many great things about you, so it's really a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. B."

"Please, call me Lucy." Lucille said, smiling lovingly at her husband. Gabriella and Sharpay exchanged a look, that said clearly said 'should we go and leave them alone or?', but before they decided what to do, Lucille continued; "So I hear you won 'Best Pop Song' and 'Best Band', that's great for you."

Before they could answer her, their manager said; "I'd also like you to meet my son, he's here somewhere, I just need to find him. So I'll see you, when I do. You girls have fun, ok?"

"How many kids do you and Mr. B have, _Lucy_?" Gabriella asked, putting pressure on Lucy, as it felt weird to call their manager's wife by her first name.

"Just the one," Lucille replied. A weird and somehow silence filled the air, but not for very long, "We wanted more, of course, but it was just impossible for us to conceive."

Again with the silence. If it hadn't been rude, Gabriella and Sharpay would have walked away from Lucille immediately, but she was their manager's wife, so they felt committed to stay with her. Sharpay cleared her throat and asked; "How come?"

"I've had cancer. But enough about me and depressing stuff, tell me something about yourselves!" Lucille said, to Gabriella and Sharpay's surprise very cheerfully, as if they hadn't had the kids talk.

"We've got an early day tomorrow. We're recording a Christmas album, which should be out by the end of this month. We're also releasing a Christmas single, which hopefully will be out in the beginning of next month, around the 3rd or something like that." Gabriella said, barely audible. It was clear to Sharpay, that Gabriella felt awkward and out of place.

"_Lucy_, will you please 'scuse us, while we go to the bathroom?" And with that being said, Sharpay took Gabriella's hand and dragged her with her away from Lucille. When Lucille was out of sight, Sharpay said; "Can you believe, that one woman can make you feel so awkward and so depressed."

"She was nice, Shar. I guess, it was just the kids thing, that made it so awkward and depressing to talk to her. It's really not her fault, that she had cancer."

"Yes, she was very nice. On the edge of being too nice." Sharpay admitted. To change the subject she continued; "Are you ready to Jingle Bell Rock next month, Gabs?"

They laughed all the awkwardness away. They were still laughing, when their manager approached them.

"Ok, so here's the deal, girls. I can't find my son right now, it's a big party. There will be no drinking at this party for you, you're under age and you have an early day tomorrow. Understood? Good!"

With that, their manager left them again. Gabriella and Sharpay exchanged a look and once again they burst out laughing.

"Now I have to pee!" Sharpay informed. She did a funny little dance, after the dance she ran as fast as she could for the bathroom, leaving Gabriella alone at the party.

"Fun party, I gotta admit." Gabriella said to herself, "I mean, this party is for Sharpay and I, and yet I'm standing here all by myself with no-one to talk to. I could always talk to myself? Like mom say: an interesting conversation with an interesting person! Yeah, I'm interesting, I'm gonna talk to myself. So Gabi, what do you think of the party so far? Well, I'll tell you Gabi, it's been good so far, if you look past the fact, that I've spent about 10 minutes talking to my manager's nice, yet depressing wife with Sharpay. I gotta admit, that it's cool, they're only playing The Sweethearts music at this party. The Sweethearts is my favourite band, I'm in the band, y'know. Really? Me too. How cool. Sharpay asked you a question before, are you ready to Jingle Bell Rock? I guess.. I mean, I'm really nervous and all, but despite that, I'm really looking forward to it."

"Do you always talk to yourself?" She heard a voice say behind her. She spun around and her eyes were met by the most gorgeous blue one's, she'd ever seen. "Or is it just my entertainment for tonight?"

"I... no. I'm just waiting on someone. Sharpay, my friend." Gabriella said, quietly. She was all of the sudden very shy, but she could do this. She sang in front of millions of people almost everyday, he was just one guy, "So who are you?"

"My name is Troy Bolton, I live here." He said, as he shook Gabriella's hand, "And you are Gabriella Montez from The Sweethearts, am I right?"

Before she could answer that question, Sharpay came back and exclaimed; "WEEHUW! Gabs is pumping up the party now."

"That would be me." Gabriella said and rolled her eyes at Sharpay's comment. She pointed towards her, "And I'm sorry to inform, that this is my best friend, Sharpay, also a member of The Sweethearts."

"Nice to meet you, Sharpay. My name is Troy Bolton." He grinned, as he shook Sharpay's hand. She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but notice, just how beautiful it was.

"Ok, Troy. Just a little warning, Gabriella drinks coffee," She giggled, giving Gabriella a big hug and whispered in her ear; "He's cute."

"Have you been drinking, Sharpay?" Gabriella asked, concerned, "You know what Mr. B said. No drinking, we have an early day tomorrow."

"I haven't been drinking, Gabiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," Sharpay replied, yawning, "I just miss my showerhead or even better: my bed!"

"I see you've met my son, Troy." Their manager yelled over the loud music, "I hope the three of you get along."

_From Stessa; Wrapping up first chapter, guys. Hope you liked it? Uhm, now the thing I told you in the beginning about AK-tutti writing most of this chapter, that was a lie. See, she wrote everything, I just wrote my authors notes, which you probably would have felt better without, but what can you do? Please now, I'm gonna beg you to review us, and… maybe AK-tutti has something to add…? _

_From AK-tutti; You know me, Stessa. I always have something to add ;b. But I'm gonna make it quick, cos I have to tuck our little Steve into bed. Like Stessa said, review us please. Or else... or else... I'm gonna use my 'read between the lines'-finger on you. I have a question to all of you: Who here thinks Zac Efron is t-o-t-a-l-l-y beyond HOT with his dark hair? If you think he is, you better leave us a review, otherwise his hotness and dark hair will go to waste. Ok, now I have to pee, so thanks for reading and all, and I'm gonna say it again; please review._

_**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_From AK-tutti; Here we are once again. I have a nice little story for you guys, before we continue on with this delightful fic. Ok, here goes: The other day my cat, Desiree, ran away, when my mom opened the front door to talk to someone. My mom was like 'ok, we're never gonna see her again.' And I said, when we were done with dinner (we were eating, when it happened), I'd go look for her (the cat). When I was done, I went outside to look for Desiree. I looked to my left, and not that far away stood a girl with a dog, and it was barking insanely at this cat, but the cat didn't care, it just stood there as cold as ice. It was like it thought 'ok, so I'm a cat and you're dog, that doesn't mean I have to be scared of you', it really didn't care about the dog. When I saw that, I immediately knew, that the cat was Desiree, cos that's just typical her. The dog should consider itself lucky, if it had gotten any closer, Desiree would have beaten the dog up. I know it sounds totally impossible for a cat to beat up a dog, but seriously Desiree doesn't care. If you get on the wrong side of her, she'll kick your ass in her own cat way. She seriously does things, that normal cats wouldn't be able to do, but she's special. One time our attic was filled with snow, and my step dad was up there with a shovel to get rid of it, so the ladder was out. Suddenly Desiree just started to climb the ladder, and I was like 'OMG, what if she crawls all the way up to the attic. Bent will freak!', but she stood in a totally wrong position to climb all the way up, so my mom was like 'no, that's impossible. Look at her position, she'd have to make some weird turn.', and that was what Desiree did. A weird turn. Then she climbed all the way up there, but just before she jumped into the attic, my mom grabbed her, cos my step dad has this thing with rage, and we didn't want to tick him off by letting Desiree get into the attic. Anyway, enough about that. I got a few great things lined up in my life, I'm going to Copenhagen by the end of April, so that's just great. There's also a bad thing in my life right now, my best friend (that I'm insanely in love with) has gotten in touch with one of his old friends, so now I'm afraid he'll hang out with his old friend all the time and forget about me. I'm really driving myself crazy, when I obsess about him, but I seriously can't stop, I'm head over heels. Sometimes life really sucks. Btw, this is second chapter of Twist Of Love, if I forgot to mention. I bet you guys want a authors note from Stessa too! So take it away, Stessa ;b._

_From Stessa; Well, thank you very much, honey! I don't have much to say, because then our authors note will be way too long (like it already isn't ;p) and yeah. Just… Thank you guys for the reviews for last chapter, those of you who did review us. And this is a Troypay story, if you're wondering, and yeah. Read and review! _

_**Disclaimer; **We don't own High School Musical, but we wouldn't mind if we owned Zac Efron. Can you guys say HOOOOOOOT ?_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 2.**

The next morning the blinding light came into the Bolton's living room, where Gabriella and Sharpay had crashed on the couches. Mr Bolton thought it would be best that way, and Gabriella and Sharpay were too tired to argue.

"Don't you eat the last chocolate chip cookie!" Sharpay exclaimed in her sleep and rolled on to her left side, letting out a little snort.

"Good morning, sunshines!" She heard a male voice say. She slowly opened her eyes, and there stood a guy around her age, smiling brightly at her. She pouted, as she wasn't the biggest fan of mornings.

"Who are you?" She asked with a hoarse voice. She looked from the guy to Gabriella, who was still sleeping and hadn't heard the guy's wake up call, she looked back at the guy, "So?"

"You don't remember me from last night, do you?" He asked, somewhat surprised with that, "I talked to you and Gabriella. I'm "Mr. B's son, Troy. Remember me now?"

"Oh yeah! You were that dude, who had the hots for my best friend, Gabs." She smirked and sat up on the couch, she didn't really feel comfortable lying down, talking to this dude, she could barely remember, "So how's that crush of yours going?"

"I don't have a crush on Gabriella!" He exclaimed and threw his arms up in the air, Sharpay had been exactly like that last night, "Why do you insist, that I do?"

"Why do you insist you don't?" Sharpay just replied, pulling her covers away from herself, as she stood up from the couch, "Are there breakfast in this house, somewhere?"

"The old people aren't up yet," Troy replied, letting the subject of his crush/not crush on Gabriella lie for now, "But I can make you a smoothie!"

"Uh yum!" Sharpay replied, happily clapping her hands together, "Can you make it with chocolate? I love chocolate! It's the best… though it's really fattening, but I think I'll live, I'll just head the gym later on, to make up for it. Do you like chocolate? Or are you one of those crazy people who doesn't? Seriously, what's wrong with them, it's like, duh,! Why don't you like chocolate, and I just think that-"

"Sharpay!" Troy yelled, cutting her off, "Shut up, you're rambling!"

Sharpay awkwardly bit her lip, a slight blush creeping into her features, "… would you please make me one, Mr. Troy?"

"Of course, ms. Sharpay," Troy chuckled, "C'mon with me, we'll let Gabriella sleep for awhile, don't you think?"

"Of course you're the one to suggest that," Sharpay replied, following him out of the living room, "I mean, after all, you are practically in love with her, so you wouldn't want to make her mad, right?"

"Urgh!" Troy said, entering the kitchen, "I don't like Gabriella!" 

Sharpay frowned, shooting him an evil glance.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he quickly covered, "I mean I like Gabriella, not that way though. She's very nice, and pretty, not what I was looking at though. I – I see her as a friend. A friend, and nothing more. Sip, nada, zero. Just a friend I met last night, you know, I barely know her, so I can't really say what I think about her. Right? You know what I mean, she's your friend and partner, so of course you like her, but I don't know her. She's a friend. Though I don't know her."

"And you say I ramble." Sharpay commented, taking a seat on one of the barstools, "How's that smoothie coming along?"

Troy stuck his tongue out at her, and turned around to find the ingredients for her smoothie. He got everything ready, and started making it. 10 minutes later, a big smoothie was placed in front of her. It had a nice chocolate colour, and Troy had to admit, it did look pretty tasty.

Sharpay took a sip, letting the taste run down her throat. She let out a content sound, indicating how good it was. She looked at Troy, a smile on her face. She held the smoothie out in front of him, "Want some, Mr. Troy?"

"Uhm, thanks," Troy replied, taking the smoothie from her. He took a sip, and he to let out a sound very similar to the one Sharpay just let out. He handed the smoothie back to her, "Wow, that's good ms. Sharpay," he smiled.

"Told you so," Sharpay replied, "That'll be my new breakfast every time I stay over here. You have to make it for me. Though sometimes you can use blackberry or strawberry, kay?"

"Sure," Troy replied, nervously chuckling, "Whatever suits the lady." He paused and looked at the smoothie in her hands once again, "Do you think, that if I found two straws, we could share that?"

"Of course, get it done, big boy!" Sharpay giggled, placing the smoothie on the table between them.

Troy opened a drawer and picked out a pink and a blue straw. He plopped them into the smoothie, and they both bend down to take a sip. Their noses almost touched, and they started giggling.

"I see you're having fun," Mr. B replied, stepping into the kitchen, "Remember to breathe sometime, eh?"

Troy and Sharpay jerked away from the smoothie, embarrassed.

"Morning dad." 

"Hi Mr. B."

"Good morning, kids." Mr. B said, "Where's Gabriella?"

"She's still sleeping," Sharpay replied, "Do you want me to go wake her?" 

"Yes please," Mr. B said, "We have to go through your song. You have to record it later on, along with the other ones, and I don't think it's quite right."

"Yes, sir!" Sharpay joked, hopping down from the barstool.

Troy watched her as she bounced into the living room, yelling: "Gabby, oh sweet Gabby! My love; you have to get up soon! Oh sweet love! Mornings are not your favourite thing!"

--

_Love is like falling_

_You never know where it ends_

_And when you make your move_

_Out in space_

_You never know what it brings you_

"Okay, so you know the drill," Tanya said, as they stepped into the recording studio, "No point of going through everything, you girls are pro!" she turned around, as they expected one more person to be there, but froze, "Where's Jack?"

"He couldn't be here," Gabriella said, "He said he had to spend time with his wife. That's why we brought Troy instead. Not that he knows much about this kinda stuff, he's just Mr. B's son!" 

Troy stuck out his hand, shaking Tanya's as she did the same, "Nice to meet you."

"You two," Tanya replied, "You will sit in here with me, and the girls will be in there. I'm in charge of music, and they're in charge of their amazing voices." 

"This is going to be awfully boring for you, Mr. Troy," Sharpay told him, biting her lip. Somehow the nicknames they started using this morning had caught on, and he'd been nothing but ´Mr. Troy´ to her all day, "You're just gonna stare into space," she fake-coughed, "Or at Gabby,"

Troy shot her a look, happy that Gabriella hadn't heard them – she was busy talking to Tanya, "Well, ms. Sharpay, I can stare at you too then."

Sharpay gave him her killer look, and waltzed into the recording studio, the exam the microphone. She made sure to ship her hips seductively from side to side. She liked toying with him, and after that remark, he deserved it.

"Okay!" Tanya broke up, "Troy take a seat with me, make yourself some coffee and feel home, Gabby; you know what I'm expecting from you! You too Sharpay!" 

Gabriella nodded and headed into the other room where Sharpay was putting on her headphones, which (for the hell of it) were pink. Mr. B had given them to her for her last birthday. He had gotten them special made for her, and for Gabriella's birthday, a few months later, no-one had been surprised to see her get a pair of headphones in a light blue colour.

They tucked them safely to their ears, and stood in front of each a microphone, waiting for Tanya's instructions.

Sharpay's eyes caught with Troy's, and she shot him a smile. She already liked their newfound friendship. He was sweet, and really, really hot. Not that she wanted that kind of a relationship with him. That would be wrong. Plus, he really did seem to like Gabriella in some weird way.

_See, love is like reading_

_You have to learn_

_Do your homework_

_And wait until it's your turn_

_You don't know what it brings you_

They started recording their songs. It took a long time, because nothing went smoothly, but they had a good time while doing it. In the breaks between the songs, Troy would come into the room and star goofing off in front of them, making them fall to the floor with serious laughing cramps.

He would tickle Sharpay to death, and then he'd put Gabriella on his shoulder and go around in circles until she got dizzy. Then he'd put her back down, and the girls would have another laughing fit.

When Tanya was ready to get back to business, she'd call him back out again, and he'd do so, knowing how important it was that they got their songs recorded. Their next album was supposed to be out right before Christmas, and they were shooting a single with the song ´Jingle Bell Rock´ soon too. Kinda like, for Christmas.

If he ruined any of it, his father would kill him. And really, he didn't want to ruin it. As much as he hated pop music, he knew that these girls were talented, and that they were his father's biggest income. He couldn't ruin that.

Then they started recording again, and he watched as their faces grew serious, and they closed their eyes, getting into their music, their song and their lyrics. He knew they didn't write many of them themselves, but he also knew that some of them was written by Sharpay. She had quite a talent for that, his father had told him so. Especially when she'd been through something, she'd always find a way to put it down on paper.

Gabriella didn't write much. She didn't like writing, and she didn't have the talent, but she loved whatever other people wrote for them, even though Sharpay would sometimes put her foot down, and insist not to do a song. Sometimes, his father had told him so, she would even threaten to leave to band if he forced them to do a song, she thought was horrible.

He always ended up letting her get her way. After all, she brought him money. She paid for everything he owned. His fancy car, and his big house. Wasn't it for her and Gabriella, they would live in a two bedroom apartment, and the Bolton family knew that very well.

Troy often wondered how his father discovered Gabriella and Sharpay. His dad had never told him, so he'd ask the girls one day. It would be nice to know, since he could feel some sort of weird friendship form between the three of them. He had a lot of fun hanging out with those girls.

_And love is like eating_

_Everyday it tastes differently_

_You get it hot, sweet and spicy_

_Until you don't like it any longer_

_You don't know what it brings you_

When they were done recording for the day, the girls parted with Troy outside Gabriella's apartment. He dropped them off there, because Sharpay was spending the night with Gabriella. The two of them was together almost all the time. Sharpay didn't even know why they bothered paying rent for each an apartment, they were always just in one of them.

But what do you know, maybe someday they'd need each an apartment. It could come in handy.

They had a sleepover in the living room, ogling over Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp in ´Pirates of the Caribbean´. They were eating un-cooked pastry, while drinking lot's of chocolate milk. They silently agreed to go for a run as soon as they woke up the next morning.

Just as the movie was ending, Gabriella turned the sound off and looked at her best friend; "So?" she giggled, "What do you think of Troy?"

"He's sweet," Sharpay replied, running a piece of her hair between her fingers, "He's fun to be with. He's cool, and he's cute enough. You?"

"_Cute enough_!?" Gabriella squealed, "He's so much more than that! He's _so_ hot, Sharpay! Are you blind or something? He's like… _the_ God! God, have you seen his eyes, they're like, amazingly blue. I can't believe anything can be that blue, ever!"

Sharpay listened as her best friend kept spilling her thoughts about their new friend. She was right though, Troy was hot, Sharpay could see that with her own eyes, she wasn't blind. She liked him, he was sweet, but she honestly didn't think of him that way. The way that Gabriella thought of him. Nah, of course she didn't…

"You know what?" Gabriella squealed once again, interrupting Sharpay's series of thoughts, "Tomorrow I'm gonna call him up and ask him on a date with me!" 

…until then.

_Yeah, love is like that_

_From Stessa: Okay them, folks; the end of chapter two. Things are moving along, but we're kinda slow here, AK-tutti and I. We'll be back as soon as possible though. Really, I believe we will! ;p And please, if you review us, we'll probably be faster. It would be nice with a little more reviews than the few we got from last chapter, and thanks to those of you who did review, please do again. And yeah, all of you, take care, I … I hope you will . Thanks !_

_From AK-tutti; Yes, my luvlies, this is it! We really hoped you liked this chapter, and it like you all to put your hands together for Stessa, cos I think she wrote the lyrics for the 'song' they recorded. But if she didn't, she deserves your applause, still. She wrote most of this chapter, and she did an amazing job, don't you guys think so? I just wrote the first part of the chapter. Will you all please, please review? I went for a work in my new shoes today, and yeah my feet are totally destroyed and killing me, so maybe a little review will help for the pain. And thanks for reading, we love you guys!_

_**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_From AK-tutti; I'm very disappointed in you guys! You call that reviewing? Let's make a competition out of reviewing from now on, what do you guys think? Anyway, to those luvly HSM fans who did review; thank you very much, we really love you guys! HUGS I'm trying to keep my author's note really short this time, if that is at all possible for me. So in the last chapter's author's note, I wrote a author's note instead of an author's note. It's not like I'm a grammar freak or anything, but if I know it's there it really bugs me. Unless it was one of those big words, that I was too lazy to get the word book for. Anyway, I'll let Stessa write her author's note now, so take it away my sweet luv ;b_

_From Stessa; Thank you very much, my dear ;p I just want to thank you all for reviewing. It really means a lot to the both of us. I don't really know what to say, except than; YOU GUYS ROCK! xD_

_**Disclaimer; **When you wish upon a star. But we do not own High School Musical, it belongs to Disney, and we're not some dead dude! And we don't own Jingle Bell Rock or Liz McClarnon's song "(Don't It Make You) Happy!" – as you probably figured, Liz McClarnon owns that one ;p_

**Twist Of Love**

**Chapter 3.**

The next morning Gabriella woke up by the sound of a knock on the door, at first she tried to ignore it, because let's face it she's not a morning person. But whoever was at the door just kept knocking and knocking, until she finally gave up and got out of bed with a loud groan. Gabriella was very testy in the morning.

She put on her baby blue bathrobe, which Sharpay had gotten for her on the birthday, where she turned 10 years old. Oddly enough, it still fit perfectly. She glanced at her best friend, who was still in the bed sleeping, mumbling something about chocolate chip cookies, before making her way to the door to see, who was at it this time at day.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"I'm on my way, god damnit!" She screamed, she was in the kitchen now, which meant the hallway was next. She was tying up her bathrobe, while she was walking, so the person at the door wouldn't be able to see her personal possessions. "Relax!"

She ripped the door open and there stood Troy with a paper bag in one hand and some orange juice in the other. He seemed stunned by the fact, that Gabriella had yelled, but he quickly got his face back.

"I'm guessing you're not a morning person?" He joked, stepping inside Gabriella's apartment. She simply groaned, and he got even more amused and started laughing, "I brought breakfast, by the way."

As he said that, he lifted up the paper bag and juice to show her. They made their way into the kitchen, where Gabriella found some plates and glasses, which she put on the kitchen table. Troy put the bag and juice on the table and sat down on a stool.

"What did you bring for breakfast?" Gabriella asked, yawning and stretching her arms.

"A little of this and a little of that" He replied, and took what Gabriella said as his que to open the bag and bring the breakfast on the table. He listed up the things in the bag as he put them on the table, "Morning muffins, eggs, toast, crusty rolls, peanut butter, jam, cheese (Gabriella made a face), cheese spread, chocolate, as I'm one of those who likes to put chocolate on his crusty rolls. I also have some crackers with fruitfilling, they are suppose to be healthy, there was a huge fuss about them at the supermarket. I brought some brown sugar as well, cos I don't know about you, but I loved to put that on toast and crusty rolls, when I was around two years old, and I've been dying to do it again."

"You forgot about orange juice. You didn't mention orange juice." Gabriella said, with an elbow on the table and her hand holding her head, her eyes were half closed, "And you had all that in one bag?"

"It's an awfully big bag!" He said with a big smile on his face. If you were there, you'd probably have named him Mr. Sunshine or something like that, he was getting too cheery for his own good. "So, what do you want?"

"I want two crusty rolls, the peanut butter, chocolate, an egg, I'd also like to try some of those fruit crackers, a morning muffin and the orange juice."

"Good choices, mein Freund, good choices!" He said, as he passed her all of those things, "So tell me something about yourself, Gabby."

"I'm tired." She said, very precise and very short, as she spread the peanut butter out on one of her crusty rolls with a fruit cracker in her mouth. She looked ready for playboy (_It's a joke, you laugh_).

"So I've noticed," Troy giggled and poured her some orange juice, "But don't you have a secret or something like that? Something, so I can really get to know you?"

"You wanna know my deepest secret, Troy?" She asked, now putting chocolate on the other crusty roll and with half a crusty roll with peanut butter in her mouth (_variation, my beluved friends_), "Nobody knows it, except for my family, Sharpay and 3 of my closest friends. Sharpay not included in the 3 friends, otherwise it would only be two!"

"Sure. And I'm guessing you want me to tell you a secret in return, right?"

"You guessed right, Mr. Sunshine (_and there it came_)!" She said, smiling. Wow, the first smile from her of the day, "Ok, so my secret is, that I'm really older than Sharpay. Two months. I'm born in June, and she is born in august. When we were about 4 years old, we made a pact, that from that day and to the end of our friendship, she'd be the oldest of her and me. You see, she hated being the youngest, and I hated being the oldest. You know how it is, the youngest always get treated like they're too little to do anything, and then there's the oldest, who gets to do all these things, that the youngest didn't get to do. Sharpay liked getting permission to do new stuff before others, but I'd always get the permission before her, because of the age difference. I, on the other hand, liked being looked carefully after and such. That's why we switch, so now we pretend, that I'm an October child. I always summer anyways, so it was fine by me! Now, you go."

"I think you're cute, and I'd like it, if we could go out." He said softly and took Gabriella's hand.

"Come again?" She asked, kinda frightened. No guy had ever called her cute, at least not straight to her face. Her eyes grew big. "Like for real, as in seriously?"

"Like for real, as in seriously," He confirmed, what he had said, not letting go of her hand, "I really do think, you're cute. Sharpay is right, I do like you. She bugged me with that all day yesterday. So yeah, will you please go out with me?"

"I... I have to 'jingle bell rock' today, and I'm getting off pretty late and for the rest of the week I'm busy 24-7, travelling all over the country, promoting The Sweethearts Christmas single, so we can have a Christmas no. 1. We get home a day before the single release, and then we have to travel again to go single signing all these different places. When we finally get back, we have to record the Christmas cd, so I'll be working 24-7 again to get it done for it's release in the beginning of December. When it's had it's release, we have album signing to do, and then we have to perform some of the songs on the album for different music shows around the country. We get time off the 24th, 25th and 26th of December, but that's not exactly a date period, as I'll probably be with my family. Then we have to work again, and we don't even get New Year's Eve off, cos we have to perform at Nokia's New Year's Eve in Rio. Don't even ask me, why it's there we're performing, when there are being held Nokia New Year's Eve concerts in Hong Kong, Berlin, Mumbai and New York too, just with different artists. It would just have been easier, if we were to perform in New York, not that I'm complaining about going to Brazil or anything. We then get a day off, but after that we have to go back to work again again, cos we have a new single 'Still You Went' coming out on Valentine's Day, so we have to record it, shoot a video to it, promote it around country and so on. We also have to write our new album, decide which single's to release at what time, more recording, shooting, promoting, performing and such. We also have many photo shoots, events and premieres to attend. So to summon up, I don't think I have time to date."

"Dad isn't giving you that much leash?" Troy joked, as he grabbed a muffin. He took a bite of it and continued; "What if we go on a pretty late date, and if it goes well, I can ask my dad, if I can tag along on you promotion tour, and then we can see where it leads, ok?"

"I guess so. Yeah, we can go on a date tonight. I'd really love to," Gabriella said, beaming all of the sudden, "But won't you find it pretty boring on the road with us?"

"Nah, I won't. Not with you there, Gabby," He said, he still hadn't let go of her hand, and now he grabbed her other one and just gazed into her eyes, "We could also have some fun writing songs, I've heard you don't write that many yourself, cos you don't think, you're that talented. Well, guess what? I'm an excellent writer at whatever, so you can just say whatever comes to mind, and I'll just rewrite it into something song-ish. Wouldn't that be great?"

"I can't wait, my Mr. Sunshine."

Then there was a special moment, a moment where they just gazed into each other's eyes. It was perfect. It really was, until Sharpay entered the kitchen only wearing a pink bra and thong.

"Um, Shar, aren't you forgetting something?" Gabriella said, shyly, looking at Troy and found him looking down at his plate, which caused her to smile a little. Y'know, that he didn't look.

"What do you mean, Gabby?" Sharpay asked, not realising that she was half naked, but when Gabriella gave her a saying glare and looked down at her body, she did and was very embarrassed, "Oh, I'm so, so sorry. Of course, it should be a reflex to put on your bathrobe on, when you wake up, shouldn't it? Troy, I'm really sorry you had to witness, um… this."

--

_"Jingle bell, jingle bell_

_Jingle bell rock_

_Jingle bell swing_

_And jingle bells ring_

_Snowin' and blowin'_

_Up bushels of fun_

_Now the jingle hop has begun ..."_

"Ok, Sharpay. So this is where, you are suppose to come in," Tanya said, slightly annoyed. They were in the recording studio again, recording 'Jingle Bell Rock', but it was like Sharpay's battery was low, and they couldn't get anything out of her. "The song is called Jingle Bell Rock, not Jingle Bell & 5 Years Later Rock. Pull yourself together."

"I'm sorry, Tanya. If I could just have 10 minutes break, I know I can do better." Sharpay said, looking down at the floor, ashamed of herself.

Today had been a weird day for her, she hadn't been her fun, bubbly and smiley self. She'd been quiet, moody and frowning non-stop. She'd been thinking to herself all day '_ok, make a Sharpay comment. Just say anything Sharpay-like. Anything that says, I'm not losing it!_', but that anything never came, and now she was here, screwing up their Christmas single, which normally she wasn't capable of. Normally if you put Sharpay and music together, it would be perfect, but not today. It was like her magic was gone. She knew why, though, it's because her head had been filled with all these different thoughts since this morning, well last night to be more correct.

"10 minutes, not one second more." Tanya gave in, but she didn't bother looking at Sharpay or anything, she was mad at her for acting unpro, like it was the first time Sharpay had ever been in a recording studio, "But if you don't get it together, Gabriella gets this song as a solo. Now go!"

Sharpay stomped out of the recording studio like a buffalo, thinking Tanya was being totally unfair. Didn't Sharpay always bring it? Well, except for today, she was feeling rather weird inside. She was having a huge battle inside her head; Was she having feelings for Troy or beginning to have them? Or was she just surprised by Gabby liking him that much and wanting to go out with him? Sharpay chose to believe the surprise theory.

She made her way down the hallway, walking past a few other recording studios, she was going to get some water and think of something else, something that would make her happy, so she could concentrate better on her singing. _Mine and Gabriella's famous supermarket trip 3 years ago_, and just like that she forgot everything, and she knew she could concentrate now. That brought a smile to her face, she hated screwing up, and now she knew she didn't have to. That's when she heard it from one of the other studios;

_"Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy_

_Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy_

_Oh boy, what do you say?_

_You found yourself a new place to play_

_Ooh yeah, make me care_

_Now you're here you can take me there_

_Oh yeah, why don't we get together?_

_Oh yeah, nothing good lasts forever_

_I was trying to find forgiveness_

_Then I found it in your eyes_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Don't it make you happy boy_

_Don't it make you happy now_

_Don't it make you happy now baby_

_Don't it make you happy now yeah..."_

Sharpay opened the door to the studio and found Gabriella sitting on the floor, working her way to find the right melody for her song. She stopped singing, when someone opened the door, but smiled when she realized it was just Sharpay.

Sharpay went inside and closed the door behind her, she sat down on the floor next to her best friend and read the lyrics on the piece of paper, she was holding. She smiled and said; "This is really great, Gabby. When did you write this?"

"Two years ago, before we even got our record deal." She replied, getting a hug from Sharpay, giggling a little, "You don't think it's sucky?"

"No, not at all," Sharpay assured her best friend, grabbing the piece of paper from her, "Infact I have a great idea for it. You wait here for a few minutes, I'll be right back!"

And with that, Sharpay stormed out of the studio with the lyrics, but luckily she was back 3 minutes later with her laptop. She sat down next to Gabriella and let her in on the idea she just got; "Ok, so I was thinking... I have this program on my computer, where you can make melodies and such, so we can make a melody for it and put on a cd, go into the studio and record our voices onto it right this second. Unless you don't want me to sing along with you, since it's your first song?"

"No, it's ok Sharpay." Gabriella smiled, she loved her and Sharpay's friendship, and how Sharpay would do anything for her, "But we can't do it right now, can we? I mean, Tanya would flip if we're just one second late."

"Screw her, this is your first song!" Sharpay exclaimed, and Gabriella smirked strangely it her, which caused them both to laugh, "Ok, we will be late, but what I have in mind will only take like 7 minutes to do, so we'll only be about 2 minutes late. Tanya'll live."

"Let's do it then," Gabriella decided, wanting to hear Sharpay's plan, "So, what do you have in mind for my 'first song'?"

"An upbeat version of Son Of a Preacher Man meets The Sweethearts fever slash style. What do ya think?" She added, after fiddling a little with a laptop and played the tune for Gabriella. A hug for Gabriella was enough to tell Sharpay, that she loved it. "So I was thinking, you do this part, this part, this part and this."

She pointed different places on the paper, to show which parts she was thinking of, and continued; "I do the rest, except for the chorus, which we sing together. Are you ready?"

With a nod, Gabriella went into the recording studio, Sharpay started the music, and as Gabriella began to sing, she stepped silently into the studio as well.

_"Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy_

_Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy_

_Oh boy, what do you say?_

_You found yourself a new place to play_

_Ooh yeah, make me care_

_Now you're here you can take me there_

_Oh yeah, why don't we get together?_

_Oh yeah, nothing good lasts forever_

_I was trying to find forgiveness_

_Then I found it in your eyes_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah"_

Sharpay smiled and joined Gabriella in the chorus;

_"Don't it make you happy boy_

_Don't it make you happy now_

_Don't it make you happy now baby_

_Don't it make you happy now yeah"_

Now it was Gabriella's turn to sing alone again, but right after she was done singing the next three sentences, it would be Sharpay's turn.

_"Yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah_

_Happy, happy_

_Don't it make you happy now, yeah."_

Now, it was Sharpay's solo, and she really got into it, like she always does. As she began to sing, she felt like she was making up for her screw up today.

_"Feel love, don't be shy_

_When it comes don't ask me why_

_Hey now the love is here_

_And don't it make you happy now, yeah_

_Oh yeah, why don't we get together_

_Oh yeah, nothing good lasts forever_

_Everybody needs forgiveness_

_Everybody wants to fly_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah"_

Sharpay took Gabriella's hand, squeezing it tight (in the friendly way, y'know), giving her best friend a prizewinning smile, as they joined together in the chorus;

_"Don't it make you happy boy_

_Don't it make you happy now_

_Don't it make you happy now baby_

_Don't it make you happy now yeah"_

Then it was Sharpay's turn again, and she gave it her all.

_"Yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah_

_Happy, happy_

_Don't it make you happy now, yeah_

_Hey now, the love is here_

_And don't it make you happy now, yeah (yeah yeah)"_

With two added yeah's to Sharpay's part, Gabriella began singing her next part of the song;

_"Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy_

_Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I'm happy"_

Sharpay quickly followed with her next part.

_"Happy, happy, happy, happy, yeah_

_Happy, happy, happy, happy, yeah (don't it make you happy now)_

_Happy, happy, happy, happy, yeah (don't it make you happy now)"_

The last parts of the song were suppose to sound like the girls really let loose, which it really did. Well, truthfully it was very organized, but you seriously couldn't tell. With two added don't it make you happy now's from Gabriella, she continued with her yeah's and Sharpay with her happiness;

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Happy_

_Happy"_

They joined together one last time in the song, and Sharpay now had her arm around Gabriella, giving her a half hug as they sang;

_"Don't it make you happy now, yeah."_

As Gabriella put her finishing touch to the song, Sharpay stepped out of the recording studio to get ready to stop the recording process, when Gabriella was done with her last part.

_"Hey now, the love is here_

_And don't it make you happy now, yeah!"_

Sharpay stopped the recording and ejected the cd, giving it a kiss. That demo, single, cd or whatever you want to call it, was priceless to the girls. Gabriella came squealing out of the studio, jumping up on Sharpay's back, giving her the biggest hug from behind in history.

Sharpay exclaimed; "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a hit!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be great, but it's not like we're ever gonna release it." Gabriella sighed, defeated. She looked at her watch and continued; "Great, we're late too."

"What do you mean, we're never gonna release it?" Sharpay asked, as they made their way down the hall to the studio, where they were suppose to be in.

"We have our single's planned already, and Mr. B would never go for it. He wouldn't just remove one of the other's from the schedule to make room for my song." Gabriella said, they were now standing right outside the studio, but they didn't go in. They stayed outside and talked.

"There's a thing called double A-side. We'll run the idea by Mr. B, and in that case nothing will be removed, there'll just be added one song. If he doesn't go for it, worst case scenario it'll be on the album, it has yet to be written." Sharpay said, giving her best friend one of her sweetest smiles, "Don't you worry, I'll make sure it'll be released."

"Thank you, Shar. It would mean the world to me. Let's go inside now," Gabriella said and grabbed the doorknob, "When do you think, we'll get off?"

"I don't know, Gabs. I mean, Tanya is in a pretty testy mood today. If the rest of the day goes smooth, we'll be off, um... late. If it doesn't go the smooth, we'll wish we still knew, what the word freedom meant."

They went inside, and they were met by the grumpiest face, you can probably imagine and a "You're late."

Sharpay looked shocked around in the room and exclaimed; "Oh my God, and nobody died. Don't have a cow, Tanya. We know, we're late, but we're ready to jingle bell rock now."

Tanya finally smiled, that's what she'd been waiting to hear all day, and she finally said it. She followed them into the recording studio and told them about the changes she'd made to the song, making it a bit more upbeat and a little more the girls style. They loved it.

The rest of the day went great, they even got off earlier than expected. Much to Gabriella's relief, now she could have that date with Troy after all. Sharpay was also glad, they got off early, now she had a few hours to convince Mr. B, that they should release Gabby's song. Not that his opinion really mattered, but Sharpay was very loyal towards him, so she didn't want to go behind his back and talk to the producers or even the guys from their label, but if he said no she might have to.

--

Sharpay stood outside the Bolton's house, she'd just knocked on the door and was waiting for someone to get it. _Please, don't let it be Mr. B's depressing wife. Please, I'll go to church next Sunday, if I get out of meeting her, please God, please. I'll probably not have time to go to church, but I'll try to make it. Pleeeease!_

Someone finally opened the door and it was... Troy? Wasn't he suppose to go on a date with Gabby tonight?

"What are you doing here?" She wondered out loud and Troy cracked a smile.

"I sorta live here, ms. Sharpay. I know blonde's are suppose to be stupid and slow, but don't you think you're a little too slow. Your manager is my dad, and he'll still be my dad the next time you come here." That remark earned him a slap on the arm. "Hey!"

"You called me stupid!" She yelled. She calmed herself down and went straight to it, "Is your dad home? And um... aren't you suppose to be on a date with Gabby?"

"He is and I am." He said, smiling. He gestured for her to come inside and she did. He then let her into the living room, where she could wait, "I'm picking her in 30 minutes, and you wait here, I'll go get him."

5 minutes later Mr. B came into the living room and smiled brightly at Sharpay and said; "Glad you stopped by, Shar. We're 5:30 tomorrow, so I'll suggest you go to bed early."

"5:30 as-as in the morning?" She gasped, sure she was used to the early and the long hours, but it still seemed very early for her. Mr. B just nodded and didn't say anything, "Well then, I'll go to bed as soon as I get home, but first I have something important to discuss with you."

"Shoot." Mr. B said, as they sat down in the couch together. He wanted Sharpay to be comfortable and she appreciated that.

"Ok, so what do you think of making 'Still You Went' a double A-side?" She said with a very cheerful sales-woman like voice, as if she was trying to sell him the newest, fanciest car ever.

"First you're gonna have to tell me, what a double A-side is." He said, patiently and sincerely interested, cos Sharpay was really excited about it, so he knew it had to be something good, maybe even great.

"Ok, here goes: you know like how on a single, there is an A-side, a B-side and few remixes? An A-side is like the main song on a single, the one they'll play on the radio, the one you make a music video to, that'll be shown around the world, the one you perform around the country for promotion and such. Then there's a bonus track, one there'll only be on the single but never the album, better known as a B-side. Then there is two, maybe three remixes of the A-side and there you go, you have a single. What do you say, if we make it a double A-side? Y'know, two A-sides, a B-side, maybe one remix of each A-side?" She paused, seeing if Mr. B was with her, and he seemed to be, cos he nodded along to what she said, "So I was thinking for the two A-sides, we'll use 'Still You Went' and a song Gabby has written, that we recorded today called '(Don't It Make You) Happy!' for the B-side we'll still have 'Somebody' and..."

"Sorry to interrupt you, Shar. I like the idea of two A-sides, but which A-side will be the main A-side? Cos I realise what you mean now, and other artists have done it too, but there's always been a main A-side on the double A-side's singles. Like Liz McClarnon's Woman In Love/I Get The Sweetest Feeling for an example, people called that single Woman In Love. Atomic Kitten has made two double A-side's in their history Be With You/The Last Goodbye, people called that singe The Last Goodbye and Right Now 2004/Someone Like Me, people called that Someone Like Me. So which shall our's be? Still You Went/(Don't It Make You) Happy!, what will people call it?"

Sharpay thought for awhile, battling the decision in her head, but she finally made one and said; "People will call it (Don't It Make You) Happy! or just shorten it to Happy!. We'll shoot a music video for both songs, promote both songs, but Happy! will be the main A-side."

She got up from the couch and got the cd with Happy! on out of her purse, she went over to Mr. B's stereo and plugged it in, so that he could listen to it, hear what they'd done. He loved it, Sharpay could tell, he even head banged during the song. Imagine that, a guy his age head banging? He was 42 years old and had a song at the age of 17, a guy like that was not suppose to head bang, but it made Sharpay 'Happy!' that he did.

_From Stessa; Okay, so I feel totally ashamed of myself, I didn't write anything in this chapters, except my authors notes and a part of the disclaimer! Can you say pathetic again? But it's just because I'm no good at writing Gabby, it's like… I can't get her just right, so I let AK-tutti write all the mayor Gabby scenes, and such. I will write something in next chapter though! I will! Because I wont let you get rid of me! And now, without further ado, please do finish up, mein freund…_

_From AK-tutti: Auw, bless you. You said 'mein Freund', I love that phrase atm. Ok, so we know this took a looooooong time to write, but well I haven't been much home and stessa has been focusing on her fab story 'Forbidden Beauty', which I'm still sorry for, that I didn't like trailer, but the story itself rocks, so the trailer didn't do it justice. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and say, the next chapter should be here much sooner, hopefully. And if any of our reviewing or reading luvlies like Beverly Hills, I'll let you know I'm working on a Dylan/Brenda fic, which should be posted soon. I hope you guys will review this chapter all of you, otherwise stessa'll turn into Superman and kick all of your asses. Yes, she's Superman, I just promised not to tell anyone, so please don't tell her, that I did. Oh, and sorry about spelling mistakes and such, when I wrote on this, I wrote pretty fast and I'm too lazy to check after them. Laters, you guys._

**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_From AK-tutti;__ Hey there :). So here we are after looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong delay with chapter 4 of this amazing story. You agree, don't you? It is amazing. I guess the both of us have just been really busy, but we're here now, so you better enjoy it. Before we get on with this story, I just wanna say (stessa probably feels the same way) thank you for the reviews, we love you guys. And yeah, chapter 5 should be here much sooner, so remember to check for its update, leave a review and whatnot . Let's hear what the amazing stessa has to say !_

_From Stessa;__ Hey to you all ;p This chapter, I promised I'd write something, and I did. Though AK-tutti really does write Troyella better than I do. But we'll see, k? And also, I'm really mad at her for telling you guys that I'm Superman, that's why I'm gonna break my promise to her now. I promised I'd tell no-one that she's Batman, but there you go… Now you guys know, I just thought it was fair, since she told you guys MY secret identity. You'll probably see us soon when we save the world together, just you wait ;p_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own HSM. But we do this story… We don't own Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz or Galeotti or whatever they call her these days either._

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 4.**

"Shar?" Gabriella said, silently skipping into the living room where Sharpay was watching TV, "What do you think?"

Sharpay turned around to look at her, just as Gabriella turned around, her red dress flowing around her, "That looks good, Gabs." Sharpay said, "He's gonna love you."

"Really, you think so?" Gabriella pouted, an excited look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I really do, Gabs." Sharpay said, turning off the TV, "And y'know what? Even though you dressed like hell, he'd probably still love you. He has the hots for you already, I can tell."

Gabriella giggled, just as the doorbell rang. She looked at Sharpay, and hurried into the bathroom to do the last of her make-up. It was always good to keep him waiting. Sharpay sighed, and stood up from the couch, to go out and open Gabriella's door. Troy was probably hoping for his date to answer, but who cares?

She opened the door, and couldn't help but let out a laugh, because of Troy's expression. He looked surprised.

"Hi!" she smiled, awkwardly waving at him.

"Uhm, hi Sharpay…" Troy said, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, didn't Gabby tell you?" Sharpay asked, acting surprised too, "You're taking me out instead of her. She changed her mind."

"What!?"

"Yes, she found some rich old man somewhere… I dunno." Sharpay replied.

"Okay then…" Troy said, "Well, we're still gonna have fun, right?"

"I'm kidding, Troy!" Sharpay smiled, breaking into a laugh, "I'm kidding! She's just doing her make-up."

"Oh!" Troy said, cracking a smile, "You got me!"

They stood in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Sharpay couldn't help but let her eyes wander over his body. He did have a good body, no doubt about that.

"Soo…" Troy broke the silence, "No hot date for you?"

"Nah…" Sharpay said, biting her lip, "Does it look like it?"

Troy turned his look away from her face, to her clothes, and realized that she wasn't exactly dressed for a date. She was wearing a pair of small boys shorts, and tank top. Just casual, but she did look good.

"I get it…" Troy laughed, "No, not exactly."

"Okay then," Sharpay said, taking at step closer to him, "Treat my best friend great tonight."

"Of course I will."

"And just so you know…" Sharpay began, "She's a little nervous about you liking her outfit, so I was thinking… It could be really fun if you pretended that you didn't. You'll be able to hear her voice get all squeaky. It's fun, believe me!"

Troy was about to answer, but just then Gabriella approached them, looking as beautiful as ever. She was dressed simply, in the red dress which went so well with her dark hair and skin. Her make-up was perfect too, she was looking sophisticated, and that was important, she always said so.

"Wow…" Troy mumbled, checking her out, "You look fat?"

"What!?" Gabriella shrieked, looking down at her dress.

"I'm kidding!" Troy laughed, pulling her out of the door by the hand, "I'm kidding! You look beautiful, but you were right Sharpay, that was fun!"

"Oh, you two!" Gabriella said, playfully hitting Sharpay across the arm, "You're unbelievable! No wonder no men wants to date you, you freak!" 

"Oh, speak for yourself!" Sharpay said, "Who's the freak?"

"Apparently you." Troy told her, "But I'll borrow Gabby now." 

"Fine, fine." Sharpay said, crossing her arms in a motherly-way, "But have her back by 11 o'clock!" 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"And if it's even one second too late, you'll never ever get to take her out again, is that a deal?"

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Good then," Sharpay said, still deeply serious. But of course she cracked a smile, "Have fun!"

She closed the door and left Troy and Gabriella alone outside. They looked at each other, a little awkwardly.

"Alright…" Troy said, "Ready to go?"

"Of course." Gabriella said, taking his hand. "Where are we going, Troy?"

"My favorite place to eat." Troy replied, leading her to his car, "It's very intimate and romantic. I think, you're gonna like it."

--

"Oh my God!" Gabriella exclaimed, when they'd arrived. The both of them got out of the car and went into the restaurant.

It seemed Italian. Yeah, like a romantic little Italian restaurant, which was good, cos Gabriella loved Italian. Troy knew that, for there's a thing called the internet and loads of fanpages for The Sweethearts, Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans, but he'd actually gone onto the official The Sweethearts page, where he found out, that Gabriella's favorite food was Italian. He also read, that Gabby liked to make up meals herself, but there was no such thing as a 'make up your own meal-restaurant', so they couldn't exactly do that.

"I know, I did a little reading," Troy said, as they were let to a table by a waitress, who handed them the menu. She told them to call on her, when they were ready to order, "So, how was you day, Gabby?"

"We recorded two new songs today, actually. One I wrote called '(Don't It Make You) Happy!' and of course 'Jingle Bell Rock', that was the song we went to the studio for. Sharpay had a hard time getting started, but when we recorded my song, she stepped up." Gabriella smiled at Troy over her menu, "So you did a little reading? Y'know, that's cheating!"

"Na-ah!" Troy protested, shaking his head.

"Uh huh." She argued, wanting to be right. Her and Sharpay were very much alike at that point, they were both very stubborn and always wanted to be right. A very bad quality when they were arguing together. "Now you know a bunch of stuff about me, and I know nothing about you!"

"Hey, I only know stuff like your 'fake' birthday, your full name, your favorite things and such, I don't know any real stuff about you." Troy said, looking offended.

"Troy, I'm kidding!" Gabriella giggled, especially by the look on Troy's face. He soon after joined the giggling, "But you still have the best hand, y'know!?"

"I know," Troy agreed, as he took a piece of paper out of his pocket, "That's why I made this, so we are at the same page."

He gave her the piece of paper, she started reading it and half way through, she began laughing like crazy. Troy looked at her, not understanding why she was laughing, but after a few minutes she finally managed to say; "Your favorite movie is 'Clueless'?"

"Is that why, you were laughing?" Troy asked, she nodded and began giggling again, "What!? It's a great movie."

"Whatever you say, Troyella," She giggled, still. She read the rest of the paper and gave it back to Troy. She looked around a little, they were sitting at a table outside. It was dark already and quite cold, but she wasn't gonna say anything, she really enjoyed his company. She wondered, if Troy had always lived in this town, it would be a great place to grow up, well actually she did grow up there, she just wondered, cos she'd never run into Troy before. "So, Troy.. Have you always lived in this town?"

"Yeah, I have some great memories from my childhood," Troy said, smiling at the memories, "What about you, where did you grow up?"

"So much for your reading, huh?" Gabriella smirked, "I grew up here too. My mom and Sharpay's mom were best friend's, so Sharpay and I grew up together, and we've always been best friends, for as long as I can remember."

"You must be like this sisters then," He said, looking down at their table. Gabriella nodded again, "That must have been great, you guys must have some great memories too."

"Yeah, we do." She smiled, she noticed, that Troy looked bummed, so she took his hand, "What's the matter Troy? Something to do with your mom not being able to get pregnant?"

"I always wanted a little brother to play with," He said, he looked at Gabriella, now realizing how great she was. She was very sweet, caring, smart, kind and not to mention beautiful, "I have this friend, Chad, whom I knew back, when I was little too, but it was always basketball with him, so it didn't feel like having a brother, I could do everything with."

"But you turned out ok, that's what matters the most. And having a friend, who's like a sibling to you, isn't always a walk in the park." She said, as she lay the menu down on the table, "I've been in a bunch of embarrassing situations with Sharpay, and let me tell you..."

She stopped in the middle of what, she was about to tell Troy, when she heard it;

_I never promised you a ray of light_

_I never promised there'd be sunshine everyday_

_I give you everything I have, the good, the bad_

_Why do you put me on a pedestal_

_I'm so up high, that I can't see the ground below_

_So help me down, you've got it wrong_

_I don't belong there..._

"Oh my God, Troy we have to dance to this song!" She got up from her seat and got ready to get out on the floor and dance.

"Here? Now?" Troy asked, confused, "This isn't exactly a dancing place, Gabby."

"I know, but Troy this was The Sweethearts' first ever single 'Halo', and they're playing it here. It's so amazingåØå, we have to dance to it! Please?" She begged, giving him the puppy dog eyes. He finally gave in and got up from his seat, and they began dancing.

--

2 hours later they left the restaurant, hand in hand I might add. They'd had a wonderful time there, chatting, eating and dancing. They enjoyed each other's company, there definitely was a connection of some sort between them. None of them wanted the night to end, so they'd decided to go for a walk and just talk.

"You must be influenced by what you dad does for a living?" Gabriella said, referring to him being a manager for various artists, including The Sweethearts.

"No, not really." Troy admitted. They turned to the right at a corner, he was leading her to the park, but she didn't know that, "I've always taken my distance from music. It would just be too much for me, if I didn't. He's already pressured me with basketball, so..."

"See, I don't believe one bit with music part." She said, eyeing him up and down, as if his looks said something about his liking of music.

"How come?" He asked, getting a look from her, he gave in and continued; "Fine, I love music, but I'm still not influenced by my dad. How did you know?"

She grinned; "Well, first of, you knew that I was from The Sweethearts, and we're the biggest thing in America right now, so if you'd taken your 'distance' from music, you wouldn't know, who I was. That, and there is a picture of you and Carrie Underwood in your living room. You like country, eh?"

"Maybe a little bit, she's very talented, and she always sings at the annual Albuquerque festival." He explained, "My dad owns a part of the festival, so I have to go."

"Oh poor you!" Gabriella mocked, laughing. She stopped though, when she thought of something, "Hey, what time is it?"

"It's 10:30." Troy replied, checking his watch, "Why?"

"That's good…" Gabriella replied, "We still have a half an hour before Mommy Sharpay wants me home."

Troy laughed, and she quickly joined him. It was so easy for them to be together. They just clicked right away. Gabriella couldn't wait to get home, she had to tell Sharpay all the details!

"But really," Gabriella got serious, "I think I have to head home. Not just because Mommy Sharpay says so, but I have an early day tomorrow." She paused, "As always."

"Is my dad pushing you too much?" Troy asked, turning his path, to walk towards Gabriella's apartment, "I mean, is he hard on the two of you?"

"He can be." Gabriella admitted, "But we both love him to bits! And he's a great manager. He makes sure we get as much as possible out of this career. And he knows when to hold back. Sometimes, if one of us have a rough time, he'll cut back on work a little. Y'know, so he does think of us."

"That's good to know," Troy smiled, "Otherwise I'd have to pound on him a little bit!" 

"You would do that for me?" Gabriella questioned, "That's so sweet! Thank you!"

They laughed, and before they knew it, they had reached Gabriella's apartment. They stood outside it, in the hallway, not really knowing how to end this perfect date. It had gone so well, so it was kind of a shame that it had to end right now. But this moment couldn't go on forever, even if they wanted it to.

Gabriella looked at Troy, a smile playing on her lips, "Thank you so much for this wonderful evening, Troy. I really enjoyed myself."

"So did I." Troy said, slowly stroking her chin and cheek with his right hand. He wondered if he should kiss her. The moment was perfect… _She_ was perfect. He slowly leaned in, to place the first mind-blowing kiss on her lips, and she leaned in too, to kiss back, but just when their lips were inches apart, they heard a loud crash on the other side of the door.

Gabriella quickly pulled away from Troy, and opened the door, afraid of what had happened. They found Sharpay lying on the floor, with an open umbrella on top of her. She looked at them and bit her lip.

"Hah, I guess you caught me!" she giggled, quickly getting up from the floor. She closed the umbrella, and threw it behind her, looking at the people in the hall.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella said, "I can't believe you were spying on us! You little freak!"

"Are you calling me a freak again?" Sharpay questioned, giving her the ´you better not be´-look.

"I think I might be, Mommy Sharpay." Gabriella said.

"Oh, so I'm your mommy, now?" Sharpay said, "Nice to know where I stand with you!"

"Okay then!" Troy said, breaking their little discussion, "I'll just head home. See ya' tomorrow, girls."

"Bye Troy…" Gabriella said, waving at him, with a sweet smile on her face.

"_Bye Troy…"_ Sharpay teased, copying Gabriella's smile and sweet voice.

"Shut up!" Gabriella said, kicking Sharpay in the shin, "You're no better yourself when you have a boyfriend."

"Oh…" Sharpay said, pretending to bite her nails, "I'm so scared of what you might do to me. Wait a minute, I think I just peed in my pants." 

"Impossible." Gabriella said, walking into the apartment, not looking at her.

"How's that impossible?" Sharpay questioned, following closely behind her. She closed the door and locked it.

"You're wearing shorts." Gabriella said, skipping into the living room, for a long girls talk with Sharpay.

_From Stessa:__ There ya' go. I didn't break my promise to you guys! I actually wrote something in this chapter! Even though AK-tutti wrote the most, I did write some! Even some of the Troyella parts, which I normally suck at! But I tried my best, and I think I did okay. Or didn't I? Uhm, I don't know… Anyway, as some of you might now, I posted last chapter of Forbidden Beauty today, and I'm so sad about it :'( I'm gonna miss that story so much, but then it's good that I've got a lot of other things going on too! Like this story, which I will, from now on, work on even more than I've done these last weeks. If it's possible, that is, but we'll see. I hope you liked this chapter. And, hmm, I think I'm done now… Let's just… Cheer for my wonderful co-writer, shall we?_

_From AK-tutti:__ I really don't know what to say, thanks for the cheers, Stessa. You rock. I um... am not really in the mood to write anything right now, so let's just leave it at stessa's author's note, ok ?_

**Stessa and AK-tutti were here**


	5. Chapter 5

_From AK-tutti;__ Thanks for all the reviews, we really appreciate them. So this, in my opinion is the best chapter yet in this story, so we hope you enjoy. And please, please review when you're done reading._

_From Stessa;__ Thank you guys, for the awesome reviews. We're trying to update as fast as possible, but we're kinda slow here. We're trying though. So yeah, I'm starting this chapter, but I have no idea if I can write it good. I just can't wait for the Troypay to begin, because, well… I'm much better writing Sharpay ;p So anyway, here is the next chapter; enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical. _

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 5.**

They had everything packed for their tour. It was gonna go great, Sharpay knew it. It would be the three of them. See, ever since Troy and Gabriella started dating, it was never just the two of them. It was always the three of them.

Not that she had a problem with that, Troy was a cool guy and all. She just wished that she sometimes got her best friend to herself. They used to have so much fun together, doing all sort of crazy things, especially when they were on tour. It used to be their special time together to have fun, but now Troy was going, and it kinda ruined the plans they made before they even met him.

But she just had to deal with it, she just had to deal with it.

That was why, they that morning, loaded their bus with all their luggage and gear. It was Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Mr. B., and a few other people. Gabriella and Troy took the seat in the back, but Sharpay placed herself next to Mr. B. because she just couldn't stand to watch the happy couple fool around for one more second. It was starting to make her gag. The only thing was, she didn't know why. She never used to feel that way with Gabriella's boyfriends before.

"So…" Mr. B. said, shooting her a soft smile, "You seem a little unhappy. Something wrong?"

"No." Sharpay said, crossing her arms, "I'm just annoyed. No biggie."

"You wished you had someone to bring around to these things too?" Mr. B. asked, glancing to the back of the bus, where one of his stars and his son were making out.

"Yeah, kinda." Sharpay admitted, "I mean, I always have trouble finding boyfriends and dates. It's not because I'm not sweet or anything, plenty of guys think that, but… Sometimes, I feel like they only like me for my money and because I'm famous. I don't really trust anyone enough to give them a chance."

"Well, you should be more like Gabby." Mr. B. said, "Y'know, have some fun, and just let loose. Give them a chance sometimes. You might find someone great because of it."

"I know…" Sharpay awkwardly bit her lip, "Anyway… So, how's everything in your life? Going good?"

"My wife just got to the hospital again." Mr. B. said, "Her cancer is back."

"Oh no!" Sharpay said, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, they believe she'll make it again."

Sharpay sneaked a glance back to Troy, who was currently stroking Gabriella's hair, and sighed, "Have you told Troy yet?" she then asked Mr. B., hoping she wasn't getting too personal.

"No." Mr. B. said, "We don't want to worry him, unless she gets more sick. We'll take it step by step and see what happens. You can't tell him either." 

"Don't worry, I wont." Sharpay smiled. She stood up from her seat, and gave Mr. B. a huge hug. Then she took another seat, by herself and turned on her Ipod. Music was always a good way to relax.

--

Last day of the promotion tour had arrived, and tonight they were performing 'Jingle Bell Rock' on the 'Tyra Banks Show' (_first thing that came to mind, as there was Top Model last night._) Normally, Christmas songs weren't performed on the show, but having The Sweethearts perform there, would really boost up it's popularity.

It was very early in the morning, when there was heard a loud crash in the tour bus. Troy and Gabriella woke up immediately, as they were the only one's still asleep. They went out of their 'room' to see, what was going on, and they weren't surprised to see, that it had something to do with Sharpay.

There, centre of it all, stood Sharpay and bit her lip, she knew she'd woken them up. Her bag was lying on floor with her clothes everywhere. Gabriella's guess was, that it had fallen down from where Mr. B put it. She looked at Sharpay and wondered how it happened, and Sharpay obviously read her mind.

"I thought I heard ticking, and then I tried to get my bag down from up there to check, and then BAAAAM!! Clothes lying everywhere."

"And the ticking?" Gabriella asked, she was tempted to laugh, she really was, but when you were used to this, it wouldn't continue to be funny, so she held in her laugh.

Sharpay looked down at her feet and replied; "The bus was turning right next."

"Sharpay..." Gabriella said, calmly, "Why do you always do this? You know the ticking is from the bus, you know there's not a bomb in your bag. You've watched Spiceworld too many times!"

"Sorry." Sharpay said, barely audible, looking from Troy to Gabriella. They weren't really mad, they were just surprised, that she had done it yet again.

"And I don't know why, I was surprised, because you do this almost everyday. It's almost a routine for you, and I should've guessed."

Finally, Troy couldn't take it anymore, and he burst out laughing, like he'd been tempted to do, since they stepped out and saw Sharpay. Gabriella shot him a look, but Sharpay just started giggling too. It wasn't funny, not at all. She didn't do it to make them laugh, she was really serious about it. The thing was just… That while she did all that crazy stuff, she really meant it. She had really been thinking that the ticking came from a bomb.

That was actually a good memory of one of the first times she and Gabriella had been singing together, as weird as it sounds…

…_14 year old Sharpay made her way onto her dressing room, confidence written across her face. It was going to be a big night tonight. She was singing for the mayor. Her parents were so proud. Of course she wasn't singing alone, she had her best friend Freddie with her. They just had to do a quick change, and then they'd be ready to hit the stage, singing for the most powerful man in their little hometown._

_She sat down on a chair, waiting for Carina to come do her hair and makeup. She brought her clothes with her, ready to change. Freddie and she was wearing matching outfits, and everything. She was so excited! She couldn't believe she was actually singing for all those people tonight. She hoped she wouldn't mess up. Nothing could bring her cheery mood down. Not even the nerves she had because of it. She could handle them._

_Just then Carina burst through the doors to her dressing room, and Sharpay could tell by the look on her face, that something was wrong. Oh God! "I have bad news!" she breathed, "Really bad news… Freddie's not able to sing. He has a throat infection." _

"_What!?" Sharpay shrieked, jumping out of her seat, "How come? He was fine yesterday! What am I gonna do? I can't sing alone! That's not possible!" _

"_No!" Carina agreed, "But I found a girl, she lives in the other end of town. She is a very good singer, and she'd like to do it with you. You can rehearse until you're on, if you want to?" _

"_Okay." Sharpay agreed, "Anything. I'm not getting my dream ruined because of this. This moment is too important to lose, y'know, considering my future career." She paused and took a deep breath, "When is this girl gonna be here then?" _

"_Oh, she's right here!" Gabriella smiled and waltzed into the room, her eyes open for applause, when nothing happened she took them down, and gave Sharpay a big hug._

"_Uhm okay…." Sharpay mumbled, hugging her back, "Way to surprise your best friend, Gabs. How come you didn't tell me you'd do this?" _

"_Oh, I just found out this morning." Gabriella smiled, "Anyway…" she took a deep breath, "Shouldn't we start getting dressed, and then maybe… Rehearse the song? I hope our voices mix well together. We haven't really sung that many song with each other." _

"_Don't worry," Sharpay said, taking a seat in her chair again, "I'm sure they do." _

_2 hours later, they were still rehearsing the song together. However, things weren't going as smooth as they could have hoped. One of the parts in the song was for a boy, and none of them wanted to sing it, so until now, they'd been arguing over that. _

_For.About.An.Hour. _

"_I was here first!" Sharpay argued, stomping her foot into the marvel floor, "I was supposed to sing this no matter what! You can't just waltz in here with your arms open and steal my part! If you had to take Freddie's place, you have to sing his lines!" _

"_That doesn't make sense!" Gabriella argued._

"_It makes more sense, than yours does!" Sharpay said, "Look Gabriella, we need to figure this out. We can't lose more hours of this. There's three hours until we're supposed to sing, okay? We can't argue over this. It means a lot to me, okay? It's for my future career." _

"_Future career?" Gabriella questioned, "You mean… You really want to be a singer?" _

"_It's my dream come true." Sharpay smiled, getting the dreamy look in her eyes, "I thought you knew that? It's all I've ever wanted to do. Since I was a little kid and watched Madonna sing." She paused, "So can we please do this?" _

"_Sure…" Gabriella smiled, "I didn't realize this meant so much to you. I just did it because I thought it'd be fun. Didn't even stop to think that maybe you've been practising for weeks for this. I'm sorry, Sharpay." _

"_That's okay." Sharpay said, "So… You wanna sing my part? I can sing Freddie's."_

"_Not, that's not fair." Gabriella said, "I came second, so I wont change what you've been rehearsing."_

"_Thank you a lot!" Sharpay squealed, enveloping her in a hug. _

_Gabriella giggled, "Don't worry about it."_

_They looked at each other for a second, and they both started to feel that maybe they had something going on. It could turn out so great, it was the start of something amazing. Maybe their friendship was strong, but could it be a possibility that their voices would sound amazing together too? Just then Sharpay flinched, as she heard a tickling sound. She looked around, a little afraid._

"_Oh my God!" she said, going for her bag pack, "Someone put a bombe in here!"_

"_What?" Gabriella questioned, hands on hips._

"_It's a bombe!" Sharpay said again, quickly turning her bag around, so all her stuff landed on the floor, with a huge clunk. "I can hear it! It's tickling!" _

_Gabriella looked at her best friend for a second, watching as she started going through her bag too. But then she started laughing, as she realized where the sound was coming from. Sharpay turned around, and shot her a weird look. Gabriella just smiled, and held up her left hand, where her watch was showing, making a tick-tick sound. _

_Sharpay blushed, and quickly looked into the floor… Oh God, good way to embarrass herself in front of a her friend! But Gabriella didn't seem to mind, she was used to it by now. She just rushed across the floor, and enveloped Sharpay in a big hug, which made them both giggle like crazy…_

…Sharpay giggled lightly at the memory. It was one of the best days in her life. Already there, when Gabriella and her had been hugging for the third time, she'd felt that something amazing was gonna come out if. And Gabriella was the best friend she'd ever had, along with a singing partner. It was amazing how one day can change so much. It was right that day, they'd realized just how well their voices worked together.

Too bad Gabriella was so busy with Troy now. She never really had time to her. Urgh, that was what she'd feared. Getting someone so close to you, can only mean they'll hurt you.

--

(_This is when Gabriella sings._ **This is when Sharpay sings. **_**And this is when they sing together.**_)

"They're simply the biggest girlband around today, and they are here today singing live." Tyra said, introducing Gabriella and Sharpay on stage, "They're gonna perform their first ever Christmas single, which is out the day after tomorrow, so make sure to get your copy. Here they are; The Sweethearts!"

The audience cheered, as Gabriella and Sharpay went on stage and did their thing.

"_Jingle bell, jingle bell_

_Jingle bell rock_

_Jingle bell swing_

_And jingle bell rings_

_Snowin' and blowin'_

_Up bushels of fun_

_Now the jingle hop has begun._

**Jingle bell, jingle bell**

**Jingle bell rock**

**Jinge bells chime in**

**Jingle bell time**

**Dancin' and prancin'**

**In jingle bell square**

**In the frosty air**

_**What a bright time**_

_**It's the right time**_

_**To rock the night away**_

_**Jingle bell time**_

_**Is a swell time**_

_**To go glidin' in a one horse sleigh**_

_Giddy-up, jingle horse_

_Pick up your feet_

_Jingle around the clock_

**Mix and mingle**

**In a jinglin' beat**

**That's the jingle bell**

_That's the jingle bell_

_**That's the jingle bell rock**_"

"Thank you!" Gabriella and Sharpay said in unison with a wide grin on their faces.

Mr. B was backstage, waving at them, indicating that they should get off stage at that very second, so they could head home right away. They had a busy sceduhle, they were gonna be home early next morning, and then they had the day off to relax, but after that day had gone by, it was on the road again. Single signing. Sure, it was fun meeting their nice fans and all, but being on the road was tiring. And when they finally would get back again, there would be no time off, they'd be recording their christmas album, which release was december 5th, and then it was on road yet again, performing their christmas songs.

Mr. B got a call yesterday. In the middle of december they'd be flying off to England for a couple of days for a photoshoot in an english mag called OK!. That would put their 'christmas album tour' on pause for awhile, and that would probably disappoint their american fans. A shame, but it would be nice for the girls to get some time off from the tour, go to another country and do a photoshoot in gorgeous clothes. Yay! They loved clothes, which for many wasn't a surprise, after all they were girls.

Once the girls got off stage, Mr. B was all stressed out. Sharpay knew, that it probably had something to do with his wife, and that he probably wanted to be back as soon as possible. When he spoke to them, he sounded stressed out as well.

"Good performance, girls, very good performance." He said, as they walked outside, where the bus was. Mr. B pulled Sharpay to the side, as Gabriella walked into the bus, where she found Troy waiting for her. "Sharpay, I need to tell you something."

"Sure, what is it?" Sharpay asked, kinda scared. Then Mr. B let a tear slip down his cheek, and that got Sharpay really worried, "Oh my God, Mr. B. What's wrong?"

"It's Lucy. Her cancer has gotten worse, and I'm really worried for her life. I need you to tell Troy for me, will you do that?" He replied, his voice shaking. He looked pale, and Sharpay was afraid, that if his wife died, he wasn't gonna be all that ok, he might not even be the same. So she did, what she had to do to take some of the pain away. To take the pain away from telling his only son, that his mother might die. She did the only thing she could to help. She nodded. "Thank, Sharpay. That means alot. But don't tell him on the bus on our way back. Don't tell him tomorrow, don't even tell him, when you go on the road again. Tell him, when he asks, why I'm not there on the bus with you."

Sharpay looked surprised, he wasn't going with them on their 'single signing tour'? Why? She had to ask; "And where would you be?"

"I'll be at the hospital with Lucy." He said, letting another tear slip. Of course, he was gonna be at the hospital, du'h. He continued; "Mr. McKessie will be covering for me, when I'm gone. He has a daughter, who's 17, your age, and she's coming on the road with you, so you be nice to her. I don't want Mr. McKessie to find any reason to quit, he's one of the best manager's I have working at Bolton Records, so you have to be nice. Gabriella too, you tell her that, ok?"

Sharpay felt sad for Mr. B, she really did, so she was gonna help him by being nice to this girl, so she nodded. After that, she surprised Mr. B by giving him a big, warm hug, and that made him smile, and it looked like it was a real smile. He put his arm around one of his best singers, and they walked into the tour bus together. They were now heading home.

_AK-tutti:__ Wrapping up chapter 5. Both stessa and I wrote alot in this chapter. You won't get an author's note from stessa after mine, cos I'm posting this chapter behind her back as a birthday surprise. Happy birthday, Stessa. Please review, it would make a great birthday present._

**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**


	6. Chapter 6

_From AK-tutti:__ Oh, poor Mr. B as you all said. Thanks for all the reviews, they mean a lot to us :). Ok, so it's been a long wait, but here you have chapter 6. But before we continue, a little commercial from my side; I've just posted my first solo HSM fic, it's a Troypay, and it's called 'Everything You Are'. Please give it a read ;b. So keep an eye out for it and future updates, please. Anyway, on with this story; when you're done reading it, please review :)._

_From Stessa:__ I apologise for the long wait too. I don't have much to say, except read Nathalie's fic. It's good. And then without further ado… I present; chapter 6!_

_**Disclaimer; **__We're very sorry, but we do not own anything related to High School Musical. We'll create something much better one day, just wait ;b_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 6.**

_"Give it to me!" A 14 year old Sharpay Evans said, reaching for the 'pokéball' in her best friend's hand, "C'mon, Gabs. I know how to open it, I swear."_

_"No, Shar, it's mine." Gabriella exclaimed, giving Sharpay the shoulder, so she couldn't take her pokéball. They both knew that at the age of 14, it was pretty childish to play with pokémon. That's why they'd gotten it in the first place. They loved being childish and goofing off. What was better than that? _

"_But I know how to do it!" Sharpay said, trying to reach around Gabriella to get the ball, but she wasn't succeeding very much. It was irritating, because it would save them a lot of time if Gabriella would just let her do it! "C'mon, Gabs!?" _

"_No!" Gabriella said, her voice firm, "Just because you're the ´older´" she used air quotes, "Doesn't mean you can walk all over me, Shar! Let me do it, now, okay!?"_

"_Fine, fine, fine!" Sharpay said, crossing her arms across her chest, letting Gabriella get her way. For once. Sharpay was often the one who got her way in the end. She would probably end up asking her to open it later when she figured she couldn't do it. _

"_Thank you!" Gabriella smiled, and then she looked down at the ball, trying to get it open, using her not so long fingernails. It was hard though, because Sharpay's nails were longer, and she'd be able to do it in a second. She didn't want to give up though, so she fiddled around with it for a good while, before she finally looked up at Sharpay, a weird look in her eyes. Without saying a word, she handed it to her. _

_Sharpay gladly took it into her hands, but of course she got a little too carried away! She tore the pieces apart so hard, that the pokémon flew out of the ball and landed somewhere on the floor. Gabriella let out a gasp, and quickly kneeled down to look around, while Sharpay followed, a guilty look on her face._

"_I'm so sorry, Gabs!" Sharpay whined, crawling away from her, while her hands searched everywhere for the little toy that Gabriella wanted so much. "I'm gonna find it, I promise!"_

"_I can't believe you did that, Sharpay!" Gabriella said, searching the floor too. But it could be everywhere. There were furniture everywhere. _

"_Oh, oh!" Sharpay suddenly exclaimed, and held up something, "I found it! Look!" she crawled towards Gabriella and held her palm out, where a purple toy was placed, smiling up at them._

"_Thank you!" Gabriella said, grabbing the toy, "Thank you Sharpay!" _

"_You're welcome." Sharpay smiled, "I'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose."_

"_I know," Gabriella said, and then she shot Sharpay a huge smile. She looked at the toy once more, before enveloping her best friend in a huge hug. "Uhm, I love you Sharpay! You're the best friend ever! I know you'll __never__ do anything to hurt me! I know! Don't worry!"_

Sharpay sighed at the memory, as she watched Troy and Gabriella sitting together in a comfortable chair, by the window, looking out at the snow. It was kinda sad. They were stuck at a hotel room for one night, this close to Christmas, and had nothing to do. Mr. B was out somewhere, Sharpay knew he was making some phone calls, but Troy and Gabriella thought he was chilling in his own room.

Sharpay had for the first time gotten her own room at a hotel. Normally she and Gabriella shared because that was more fun and cosy. But Gabriella and Troy had gotten a room together, so that was just her bad luck. She was hating it. To her guts. And as they were sitting there, arms wrapped around each other, she felt so alone and as an outsider. This was their thing, and she felt like she was invading their privacy.

She looked at Troy, and got lost in his face again, as he was whispering something in Gabriella's ear. She sighed, as she realized that what Gabriella had said those years ago, was slowly becoming untrue. She was slowly doing something to hurt Gabriella, though she wished she wasn't. But she couldn't help herself. She was slowly realizing what it was that she felt inside every time she talked to Troy, or even just looked at him.

She stood up and made her way into the hallway, not before grabbing her phone. She hoped there was somehow quiet out there, but there probably wasn't. Now, how was she gonna find a place to have a nice conversation with her twin brother if a bunch of crazy fans would be harassing her?

She figured she could find a baseball cap and go the lobby of the hotel, and find a corner where she could be herself. She stepped into the room again, hurryingly grabbed a cap, and then she was outie once again. She pulling it on, and tried her best to hide her blonde locks under it, and she did a fair good job. She made her way down the elevator, and took a seat in a big red chair, looking out on the snowy street, through the window.

She dialled her brothers number, a great feeling in her stomach. She couldn't wait to talk to him again, it had been too long. She missed him so much, he was the person she trusted the most in the entire world. And when she was away, she made sure to call him at least every week, but she had been lagging on that, because she'd been talking a lot to Mr. B about Lucille's cancer. He couldn't talk to Troy, because the poor boy still didn't know a thing about it.

She felt guilty knowing about the cancer, when Troy didn't know. She wanted to tell him every time they exchanged one word with each other. Even during dinner last night in the restaurant when he'd asked her to pass the salt. She'd quietly handed it to him, while trying not to look at him, because she knew that if she did, she'd end up spilling the beans. And she'd promised Mr. B not to tell, and a promise is a promise. And Sharpay Evans almost never broke her promises.

It didn't take Ryan very long to pick up. He sounded very cheery, but that was a given. He was with his girlfriend, at their parent's house, having a nice Christmas get together, "Hi Shar!" she chuckled, "Everybody, it's Paypay!"

"Hi Sharpay!" the chorused, and the sound of their sincere voices, made Sharpay really realized how much she missed home.

"Hey everybody!" she said, "What are you doing?"

"Chilling out." Ryan replied.

"I'm sorry I didn't call earlier, Ryan," Sharpay said, "But could you put me off speak phone and go somewhere? I need to speak to you. Privately."

"Sure," Ryan said, and she could hear him moving around, and then a door closed. She guessed her was in the kitchen now, "What's up, Shar? You sound upset, something wrong?"

"It's just…" Sharpay trailed off, biting her lip, "I wished I was there with you, hearing you right now, having fun."

"Oh, missing home?" Ryan chuckled, "Don't worry, I miss you too, Paypay. We all do. You have no idea."

She giggled slightly, "Anyway… It's kinda sad here. I'm all alone, Gabriella got a new boyfriend, and…" she sighed, "They're together all the time, I have nothing to do. And then Mr. B is having problems with his wife, and it's his son Gabby is dating, and I can't tell him about it, I feel so guilty."

"I'm sorry…" Ryan said, "That doesn't sound fun. Why don't you tell Gabriella if you feel left out? You two have been friends since you were really young, you should be able to tell each other everything."

"Well…" Sharpay trailed off, biting her lip a little, it was something she did often when she was nervous about something, "It's not only that, there's a lot more to it than just that, Ry… I can't tell her, because… Well, I like the guy she's with." She paused, "I think."

"That's not good, Sharpay." Ryan said, sounding really serious, "How can you fall for your best friend's boyfriend?"

"I'm not even sure I've fallen for him, Ryan!" Sharpay argued, raising her voice slightly, "But I'm feeling weird around him. Could be because of the secret, though, so I don't know for sure."

"Then maybe you need to figure this out, Sharpay." Ryan said, "Go get laid or something, that'll clear you mind about things."

"Haha, very funny, " Sharpay said, "I'm not gonna sleep with some random guy and end up getting aids or HIV or whatever. That'll ruin my career, and after all, that is the most important thing."

"True, true." Ryan said, "But you need to sort your feelings out, Sharpay. If it's for real you like him, Gabriella deserves to know."

"Yeah, okay." Sharpay sighed, giving in. Mainly because she knew he was right, but also because she didn't want to hear more about it. He could sound so much wiser and older than her when he wanted to, and it really annoyed her. She hated being the small one, "Say hi to mom and dad, Ry. And Sofia too. I've got to go. I'll go check on Mr. B. He needs support, you see."

"That's the girl I know," Ryan said, "Thinking about other people. And yes, I'll tell them hi. Say hello to Gabriella from me, and also that… guy. Whom I don't know the name of."

"It's Troy," Sharpay giggled, "And bye." She hung up the phone, and placed it in her lap, once again looking out of the snowy window. It was getting darker outside, which meant the day was over sooner. Luckily, because she just wanted to put on her PJs and crawl into bed, watching some old movie. She could have stayed in bed all day, but Gabriella and Troy had decided to pay her a visit, but they ended up making out in her room instead.

_How_ nice of them.

She let out a deep sigh, and pulled her cap off, letting her head rest on the chair. Her hair fell across her shoulders in a mess, but she didn't care. Even huge stars have their bad hair-days, who doesn't? She closed her eyes for a second, thinking things over. Why was she worrying so much about Troy and his feelings? She shouldn't care, he's just some guy.

But he was dating her best friend. He was sweet and awfully charming too. Maybe that was why, he'd already gotten a place in her heart. She had a feeling she wouldn't get rid of him soon, and she wasn't sure if she liked that or not. If she wasn't getting rid of him, that probably meant he was going to be with Gabriella for a long while. She didn't like that idea very much. In fact, she hated it, even though Gabriella was her best friend.

She opened her eyes again, and came face to face with two little girls. One of them had brown hair and braids, reminding her so much of Gabriella when she was younger. The other had honey blonde hair and green eyes. Her hair was in pigtails, and it was a good deal shorter than the other girl's. They looked at her, their eyes curious, but as they realized she'd seen them, the brunette retired to behind the blonde's back.

That might as well have been herself and Gabriella. She always protected her best friend.

"Are you Sharpay Evans?" the blonde asked, her eyes big, "Because you have _her_ face!"

Sharpay giggled slightly, and smiled at the cute girl, "Yes, I am." She said, "And what's your name?"

"My name is Sandy, and that's Ida," the blonde girl, Sandy replied, pulling her friend out from behind her back, "I can't believe it's you! We're such huge fans of the Sweethearts! This is amazing!" 

"Is Gabriella Montez here too?" Ida asked, finally saying something.

"Yes, but she's in her hotel room." Sharpay replied, smiling at the two cute girls, "So? You like our music? Which song is your favourite?"

"Uhm…" Ida seemed to think about it, because she squeeze her eyes shut and titled her head to the side, getting a cute and thoughtful look across her face.

"All of them!" Sandy exclaimed, "I love all of them! They're all so good." She took a seat in the sofa next to Sharpay's chair, and almost crawled over the armrest, wanting to be as close to her idol as possible, "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," Sharpay smiled, as Ida sat down next to her friend, "You can sit wherever you want."

"Who was that on the phone?" Ida asked.

"That was my twin brother Ryan." Sharpay replied.

"Wow," Ida said, "You're a twin!?"

"Yup," Sharpay said, "And I miss him very much when I'm on tour with the Sweethearts, so I call him all the time. He's at home."

"I bet he misses you too." Sandy said, "I know I would if you were my twin sister."

"I'd like to think he does." Sharpay giggled. She couldn't believe how cute these two girls were. Suddenly her day had just gotten a whole lot better. They took her mind off everything. She wouldn't mind sitting talking to them for the rest of the day. She knew their parents would be looking for them soon, though. The girls couldn't be more than 8 years old.

She was right, because in that second, a man who looked a lot like Ida, came towards them, "Girls! You can't disappear just like that!" he said, "We got worried."

"Sorry dad," Ida replied, "But we saw Sharpay Evans… from the Sweethearts!"

"Oh," the man said, turning to look at her, "I'm so sorry, were they bothering you?"

"No, no." Sharpay smiled, extending her hand to him, which he shook, "We were just talking."

"Okay," the man smiled, "But we'll be going now. C'mon girls, Sandy, your father is waiting for you too."

"But uncle, can we have a picture please?" Sandy said, pouting her lips at him. She turned to Sharpay, and did the same, "Can we? And an autograph?"

"Sure," Sharpay said, "I don't mind at all. Crawl onto my lap, and your uncle can take the picture."

The two girls squealed and jumped onto the chair, where the settled themselves, resting their heads cutely against Sharpay's shoulder and chest. They had huge smiles on their faces, but who wouldn't if they'd just met their idol? Their father/uncle quickly fixed a digital camera out of his backpack, and captured a lot of pictures of the girls with the singer. He knew they'd be happy forever, and if he took many, there was a chance that at least one of them got good. When he had been shooting away for about a minute, the girls crawled down, and grabbed two napkins from the nearest table, while their father/uncle handed Sharpay a pen.

She grabbed one of the napkins, and read aloud what she was writing, "Hi Ida. You're a cool girl, nice talking to you. I hope you have fun on your vacation, and that you have a merry Christmas. Watch out for your tight friendship with Sandy, it can last forever. Love, Sharpay Evans." She handed it to Ida, who hugged it tightly, and then she took Sandy's napkin, and read aloud too, "Hi sweet Sandy. You remind me a little of myself, so that ain't a bad thing. Be sure to take care of Ida, she'll appreciate it. I hope you have a good Christmas, and get what you wish for. Remember to always go after your dreams, and they'll come true. Hugs and kisses, Sharpay Evans."

"Thanks!" Sandy said, grabbing the napkin, "You're a cool star!"

Sharpay giggled, "And you're a cool girl. Have fun you two."

"You too." Ida replied, taking her father's hand.

"Have a good Christmas, sir." Sharpay told him, as they turned to walk away.

"Right back at ya'." He laughed, and dragged the two girls with him, while they kept turning to wave at Sharpay, who happily waved back, knowing just how much that little gesture meant to them. Normally she didn't take as much time with her fans, because normally when one person spotted her, everybody came up, wanting a picture or and autograph. But she had nothing to do today, and the lobby was almost empty.

She stood up, grabbed her cell phone and baseball cap, and made her way towards the elevator, to go talk to Mr. B. Suddenly, her day had just gotten a lot better. It was funny that way.

She finally found herself outside Mr. B's room, and she knocked on the door. No answer. She decided to peek inside, the room was empty, it looked like Mr. B had never been in there. She glanced around for some clue to where Mr. B might be. She found a note on his nightstand;

_'Dear Sharpay,_

_I know, I made you promise to stick around, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to do it, you understand that, don't you? It just doesn't seem right to be in Memphis, miles away from Albuquerque, when my wife is very sick. I really tried to stay, but it was too hard._

_When you talked me into staying, I thought it was gonna be easy, when I had you to talk to about it all. I guess, it was harder than I thought. I know you said, I had nothing to worry about with Lucille, and that she's a survivor, and you're right about that, but still I can't help but worry._

_Don't get upset, Shar. I was there for the Christmas specials, like when Jingle Bell Rock went no. 1 in the Christmas charts. We had that huge celebration party, and it was really fun, it helped take my mind off it all for one night. Mr. McKessie and his daughter, Taylor, will be there at 9 O'clock tomorrow morning, so after you've read this; go to bed. You need to be rested, you have to look presentable for my sub, my partner, and I will still know, if you try to pull something on Taylor, I will not have that. Don't worry, Mr. McKessie is a great guy, and you'll have tons of fun with him. I'm sorry, though, that I can't be there tomorrow, when the Christmas album 'The Sweethearts Goes Christmas' releases, hopefully it will go straight to no. 1, and you make sure to call me if that happens, ok? But I'm sure it will, it's on the most wanted list in the country, so it most definitely will._

_Remember the promise you made me, Sharpay. Don't tell Troy a thing, first when he asks, where I am, then you can tell him everything. Remember, first when he asks._

_Best Christmas wishes,_

_Mr. B (I'll be back before you know it.)'_

Sharpay sighed, as she crumbled the paper into a small little ball and put it in her pocket. She had believed, it would be best for him to stay, but she had nothing against free will. Now she had to adjust to a new manager, Mr. McKessie. No way was she calling him that, he would have to settle for a Mr. McK, just as 'Jack Bolton' had to settle for a Mr. B.

She slowly began to walk back to her room, sad and excited at the same time. Sad; Mr. B had really left, and now they were stuck with his partner and some girl, they didn't even know. Excited; 'The Sweethearts Goes Christmas' was releasing tomorrow, she had totally forgotten about it, but reading Mr. B's letter reminded her of it. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.

She met Troy on her way to her room, the direction he was walking in, it looked like he was on his way to Mr. B's room. She had to stop him, if he was sad tomorrow, Gabriella would be sad, and if Gabriella was sad, Sharpay would be sad. And she didn't want to be sad on album releasing day, so she yelled; "Troy, stop! Wait."

He stopped up and went over to her to see, what she wanted. "What is it, Sharpay?"

"Mr. B told us to go to bed right now, we have to get up really early and be ready at 9, so we need some rest." She said very quickly, hardly breathing.

"You have heard of breathing, right?" He asked, sarcastic. "Why do we have to be ready at 9 anyway?"

"Oh no, you have awakened the wrath of Mr. B, you will now suffer from tickliness." Sharpay joked, she grabbed on to Troy's shoulder and turned him around, so that he was facing the way towards his and Gabby's room.

"Tickliness, is that even a word?" He asked, as Sharpay pushed him down the hallway towards his room. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Ah, ah. Naughty Troy, there will be no question asking, otherwise the tooth fairy will come and spank you with a giant rubber toilet brush!"

"What?"

"Yeah hah."

"W-what?"

"Exactly!" Sharpay giggled, now acting terrified, "Hurry up, Troy. The tooth fairy is coming. Run! Run for your life, Troy. Don't think about me, safe yourself. AAAAAAARGH!"

She pushed Troy into his and Gabby's room and ran to her own, still screaming "argh" and very caught up in her little play. Remembering what Mr. B had written, she went to bed immediately, even though she was very much hyper.

--

Sharpay was awake early that morning, getting ready for Mr. McK and his daughter Taylor to arrive. She wanted to make a good impression, but it would be kinda hard, since she knew she would be worrying about Mr. B a lot too. But today was a happy day, it was release day.

She hopped in the shower, took on clothes, did her hair and makeup and went to wake up the happy couple. She only knocked on their door and yelled their names until one of them answered, because walking in the and see them lying close to each other wasn't one of her Christmas wishes.

They were eventually all gathered in Sharpay's suite, waiting for a knock on the door. Troy and Gabriella were so busy making out that they didn't even hear it, so Sharpay went to open. On the other side stood ad tall man, in a suit, with glasses. His eyes and hair was brown. Next to him stood a teenage girl, very similar in appearance.

Sharpay let a huge smile on her face, "Hi!" she said, letting them in, "You must be Mr. McK and Taylor… Sorry about the McK, but I can't get myself to say your whole name, that's too weird, hope you don't mind." Sharpay said, the words rolling off her tongue without a breather.

Taylor looked at her, a weird look on her face, "Don't you ever breathe!?" 

"Sometimes I forget to do so." Sharpay said, nodding slightly, as she was biting her lip, "How was the trip?"

"Good," Mr. McK said, shaking her hand, "It was long though, but quite comfortable. Where's… Gabriella?"

"She's with Mr. B's son in the living room." Sharpay said, leading the way, "If they're still living, you see, they're going out, so sometimes when they kiss they forget to breathe too."

Taylor giggled, and they all entered the living room, finding Troy and Gabriella still alive. Luckily enough, Sharpay couldn't figure out what to do if the guy she had a thing for was dead, along with her best friend and partner.

"Troy and Gabriella, this is Taylor and Mr. McK. Mr. McK and Taylor, this is Troy and Gabriella." Sharpay introduced them, smiling as they all shook hands. She could tell they would get along great.

"Congratulations on your CD release." Mr. McK smiled, sitting down on the small sofa.

"Thanks," Gabriella, being the most polite one, said, "We're very excited, right Shar?"

"Oh yeah," Sharpay said, "Very excited."

Taylor tried to catch Sharpay's eyes for a second, wondering what was up. Was this the way they normally behaved around each other? Sharpay caught her eye and gave her a slight shrug. She could tell they were gonna get along great, though the two _Sweethearts_ were a bit weird.

_From Stessa; __Hmm, so yeah. We didn't get much further with the story in this chapter, but AK-tutti and I, we like to take things slow. And we will get to the Troypay soon! I promise, we will. And yeah, my exams went really good, so now I have vacation, but I'm not going anywhere, so I'll get a lot of time to write on ALL my joint fics ( I swear, I have SO many going on, it's crazy), plus finish my own fic, and write a lot of the one-shots I'm thinking about, and probably a new story. And also, that whole "you have her face"-comment, yup, I watched an interview with Ashley Tisdale, and some little girl actually asked her that, and I thought it fitted the situation, so I borrowed that comment. I just had to, it was so cute, so that line belongs to a little girl, whom I don't know. Anyway, I hope you review this chapter, it means the world to us. And then yeah, I'll let my dear friend finish with her A/N – take it away, my dear …_

_From AK-tutti; __Can any of ya all say ramble? Stessa, you ramble. So, this was chapter 6, we hope you enjoyed. Please review and all that. So Sharpay and Gabriella, bff, aren't that great friends anymore all because of a guy, huh? And we got Taylor into the story, what do you say? Ok, so in my opinion this is one of the best chapters so far, so do us a favor and review. Maybe set a knew record? The most amount of reviews we've gotten for a chapter so far is 12-13, can you top that? Please try. Anyway, I have to pee, so I don't have much to say other than; let the reviewing begin._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_From AK-tutti;__ Hey everybody. I thought we made a deal? You were gonna beat a record, we did agree on that, right? And then in the middle of it all, you turned around and didn't. That's no good. Shame on you ;b. But still, thank you for them. And further down, I guess you'll figure out, that I'm Gizmo, because Stessa is Stessa, and I'm not? Anyway, on with the story._

_From Stessa;__ Hi again, people! I just wanna thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot me, seriously! Here is the next chapter, I hope it's worth the wait. The flashback in the beginning has sort of a funny story to it, but I don't want to get into that right now. _

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical. But we own the idea with the handbook, because we are Stessa&Gizmo. AK-tutti owns the idea with the monkey top and the clothing line 'What Not To Wear'._

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 7.**

"_Hey Gabs…" Sharpay whispered, turning her head to look at her best friend's face, a smile playing on her lips, "How come we're best friends? I mean, how do you choose your best friends? How come there's some people you just get along with, and some people you can't stand?"_

"_Gee Shar, that's really deep," Gabriella whispered back, looking at her friend too, "I guess it just happens. I mean, you and I always got along, so that's why we've been best friends for ever. And I know we will be always, even though we're only 15 now, I can tell. You'll never get rid of me!"_

"_I don't want to get rid of you, Gabs." Sharpay giggled, turning to lie on her stomach in her sleeping back. They were in Gabriella's room, having a sleepover. Sharpay was on a mattress on the floor, while Gabriella was lying on her bed, a few inches higher than her. _

"_That's nice to know, Shar!" Gabriella said, giggling too, "So, any news in the boyfriend department?" _

_This could easily be described as gossip, but they didn't care. Sharpay closed her eyes, and blushed a deep red, "Weeeeell…" she begun, trailing off, "There's this guy… at my school."_

"_Oh, seriously!?" Gabriella exclaimed, moving her head a little to get a better view of her friend, "Who is he? Is he cute? What? You need to spill the beans, you can' just leave me hanging!"_

"_You know me and guys, Gabs…" Sharpay said, blinking wildly, "There isn't much to tell." _

"_Oh, c'mon, Shar!" Gabriella said, getting ready to pound on her friend if she didn't share the cute-guy news, "Please? For sweet, little moi?"_

"_No," Sharpay said, turning around to look at Gabriella again, but she froze when her eyes caught something on the wall, "Gabby…" she begun, swallowing a lump in her throat, while her eyes got bigger, "Please don't freak out and start screaming, but…"_

"_But what?" Gabriella asked, frightened by the look in Sharpay's eyes. _

"_There's a big spider on the wall behind your head." Sharpay revealed._

_Gabriella immediately started screaming and jumped up, off the bed, landing on top of Sharpay's back, as she was lying on the floor. She looked at her baby blue wall, and saw a big, fat, ugly spider. It was seriously gross. She got the creeps just looking at it. "Eeew!" she exclaimed, "Sharpay, what do we do?" _

"_Let it be?" Sharpay suggested, knowing how scared Gabriella was of spiders. Sharpay herself didn't like them either, but she wasn't scared of them. They didn't belong in the house, but in nature was fine. And she didn't want to touch them either. _

"_No!" Gabriella said, slapping Sharpay across the head, "You need to remove it, dork!" _

"_Me?!" Sharpay said, pushing Gabriella off of her, so she was sitting on the floor. She sat up herself, a weird look in her eyes, "Why do I get to remove it? You're the one who doesn't want it there." _

"_Please?" Gabriella said, sending her the big puppy-eyes that she knew that Sharpay couldn't resist, "For me?" she pouted, using her baby voice, "Your bestest friend in the whole wide world?"_

"_Okay then," Sharpay said, standing up to take a look at it._

"_But eew, Sharpay, hurry up, 'cause it's moving!" Gabriella shrieked, as the spider took a few steps across her wall, "It's SO gross, hurry up!"_

"_What do I remove it with?" Sharpay questioned, standing up, hands on hips, "I'm not just gonna grab it, you know!"  
_

"_Uhm," Gabriella said, seeming to think about it. Suddenly her face lit up, as she got a brilliant idea, "I know!" she exclaimed, running across her room to her book shelf, where she grabbed a purple book and held it out for Sharpay, "Use this?" _

"_Your book?" Sharpay questioned, not believing she wanted her to smack the spider with a book! Least at all such a pretty purple one…_

"_NO!" Gabriella said, "Idiot, it's a handbook!" she held up the book, "Take a look."_

_Sharpay grabbed the book and took a look at the title, "'How to kill spiders, Stessa&Gizmo style'?" She paused, "Huh?"_

"_It's a book to how you kill off spiders." Gabriella said, stating the obvious, "You can look it up in it. Try, c'mon now, before it moves again."_

"_Fine," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. She opened the book to the first page, and found a long list of different methods. The best ones were first, so she quickly flipped a few pages, and skimmed through the lines, "Quick Gabby!" she said, biting her lip, "Get a shoe and a candle, now!"_

"_Okay!" Gabriella said, running frantically around her room in search for a shoe or a candle. She found a pink candle and one of Sharpay's silver heels. She grabbed them and hurried back to Sharpay, holding them out for her, "Here." She smiled, really proud of her work._

"_Okay, good." Sharpay said, reading the rest of the description, as to how you can kill of a spider with a shoe. She smacked the book close and turned to look at Gabriella again, "Now, I'll use the shoe to smack the spider, and after that, you can remove it from the wall with a napkin or something." _

"_Okay," Gabriella nodded, thinking that that was a very good idea (except for the part where she was to remove it, but she could always convince Sharpay to do that too later, she knew it). Probably the brightest thing Sharpay had ever said. She stuck the silver heel into Sharpay's arms, still smiling._

"_What's that?" Sharpay questioned, looking at her best heels. She loved them SO much._

"_A shoe." Gabriella simply said._

"_What? No!" Sharpay argued, "I'm not gonna use my silver heel to kill off a spider. It'll ruin the shoe forever. Didn't you have anything else?"_

_  
"It was all I could find, you told me to be quick!" Gabriella said. _

_Sharpay shook her head, and threw her shoe on her sleeping back. She grabbed the book again, and read through the whole candle-method, wanting to see if that one was useable. She nodded when she was done, and closed the book again, "Well, that should work?" she glanced at a candle she had given to Gabriella herself, "Now, are you sure you want to sacrifice that candle?"_

"_It's that or your shoe." Gabriella simply replied, a smock smile playing on her lips._

"_Candle it is!" Sharpay quickly decided, grabbing the pink thing from Gabriella. She turned around to look at the spider, which was still where it was before. She bit her lip and took a step closer, until she was an arm's length away from it, "Okay…" she whispered, "Here we go…"_

"_Good luck," Gabriella said, swallowing hard._

_Sharpay slammed the candle on top of the spider, and then she closed her eyes, making a shrieking sound, while she kept on turning it around, while it was still plastered against the wall. She wanted to be sure that the spider was done, death, goodbye, __arrivedeci, chaio. _

"_I think it's dead now, Shar!" Gabriella exclaimed._

_Sharpay slowly opened her eyes, and looked at Gabriella for a second. She then turned to the wall, lifted the candle a little and hammered it to the wall one more time, making the wax fall everywhere. It was crumbling from the candle, landing on Gabriella's bed. She lifted the candle off to reveal a big spot of wax, blood and dead spider. _

_The girls both let out a loud groan, that was so gross. Sharpay threw the rest of the candle towards the trashcan, and turned to Gabriella, "Your turn now. You remove it."_

"_No!" Gabriella argued, "No way."_

"_It can't just sit there."_

"_You do it, please?" _

"_Tomorrow, I'm too tired." Sharpay gave in, knowing Gabriella would never do it._

"_But I can't sleep there now." Gabriella said, pointing towards her bed. _

_Sharpay sat down on her mattress and climbed into her sleeping back, "There's plenty of room with me, Gabs?" she suggested, "Come sleep here, I'll remove it tomorrow, first thing, I promise."_

_Gabriella shot her best friend a smile and climbed into the (luckily) big sleeping back, "That's why I call you my best friend, Shar," she whispered, "You'll do everything for me."  
_

"_That's right," Sharpay said, "Because I know you'll do everything for me too."_

2 years later, they were the biggest band around, their names were known all around the world. They were on their way to Rio to perform some of their songs at the Nokia New Years Eve concert in Rio. They'd been looking forward to it before Gabriella got herself a boyfriend. They'd promised each other, that their trip to Rio was gonna be so much fun, but look what a month can do?

They were barely talking to each other, and when they did, their conversations were very awkward. So Sharpay had stopped bothering trying to talk to Gabriella, and she'd gotten really close with Taylor in only about 2 weeks. If Gabriella wanted to get her tongue out of Troy's throat long enough to talk to, what she claimed to be best friend, she could do that, and then Sharpay could decide, whether or not she wanted to talk to 'miss I've-got-a-boyfriend-so-I'm-completely-ignoring-the-girl-who's-been-my-best-friend-for-14-years-just-because-my-boyfriend-is-good-looking-and-might-be-a-great-kisser'. She wouldn't count on it, though.

Taylor and Sharpay were sitting in the front of the bus, Troy and Gabriella were in the back of it, Mr. McK and all his people would be found in the middle of it, which Sharpay considered a good thing, because if she got too close to Troy and Gabriella, smoke would start fuming out of her ears.

"For the 117th time, what's up with you and Gabriella?" Taylor asked out of nowhere and gave Sharpay a fright, "Why are you barely talking? Aren't you suppose to be best friends?"

"You tell me?" Sharpay said, not bothering to look at Taylor, but she could feel Taylor's glare on her, so she decided to answer, "Short version: I pushed 'miss I've-got-a-boyfriend-so-I'm-completely-ignoring-the-girl-who's-been-my-best-friend-for-14-years-just-because-my-boyfriend-is-good-looking-and-might-be-a-great-kisser' and the basketball playing, best friend stealing, stupid Mr. Big shot together, and I didn't see the consequences."

Taylor scratched the back of her head, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't think of anything.

Sharpay knew that, somehow, so she decided to speak, "You don't have to say anything, Tay. I mean, 14 years of friendship worth throwing away for some guy. It must be one hell of a guy." She finally looked at Taylor, who nodded for Sharpay to go on. "She's become kinda unreliable. Yesterday we were gonna go shopping before the trip, we were each gonna buy one of those monkey t-shirts, y'know. But Gabby never showed up, and she'd made me the promise before she met Troy, and then he gets into her life, and she completely forgets about me. And our friendship is effecting our performing, we've had trouble performing together for the past few weeks, and it's gotten worse. I don't see how we can perform together on New Years Eve."

At the exact same time at the other end of the bus:

"I don't see how we can perform together on New Years Eve." Gabriella exclaimed, resting her head on Troy's shoulder.

"Ssh, Gabs. You have 3 days to figure it out." He whispered quietly into her ear, stroking her hair gently. "You two should talk, when we get to Rio."

"How are we gonna figure it out, when I don't even know why, she's so cold towards me." Gabriella whined, letting a couple of tears slip down her cheeks. She was saddened by the fact, that Sharpay was nothing like she used to be. So she was crazy like always, but she wasn't as she used to be towards her, and Gabriella didn't know why. "I would do anything for her to fake that she's totally afraid of me again."

Troy glared at Sharpay at the other end of the bus, a weird look on his face. There was crazy, and then there was just completely insane.

To Troy's weird look, Gabriella said; "Why do you look like that? It was pretty funny. A little annoying, but quite fun."

"Ok, I was just trying to imagine it." Troy said, as turned and gazed into Gabriella's brown eyes and gave her sweet little kiss. "Just talk to her, sweetie. It will be ok, I promise."

--

Hours later the tour bus stopped in Mexico, and the bus driver stepped outside to fill the tank. Sharpay followed him with her eyes and was ready to comment his every mood, until Mr. McK stood up in the middle of the bus. All eyes were on him, because it looked like, he was about to say something.

"We're gonna take a 30 minutes break, so you can all go outside and stretch your legs, walk around or whatever." He announced, and everybody stood up and got ready to get out of the bus, so he continued, "But be sure to stay close, because I'm not that well-known in Mexico, and I won't be able to find you, if you get lost."

"Why are we stopping in Mexico?" Sharpay exclaimed, as she rose from her seat and banged her head at a cabin, "I don't speak Mexican!"

Taylor rolled her eyes at her blonde friend and said; "They speak Spanish, Shar!"

"I don't speak that either." Sharpay said, her voice all squeaky.

"Good thing it's only a 30 minutes stay then, Sharpay." Mr. McK grinned, as they all got outside. The crew stayed by the bus, but Sharpay and Taylor went out to explore a bit, so did Gabriella and Troy, but they went in a different direction.

"Oh, my God. I'm so unprepared for this trip!" Sharpay shrieked, jumping up and down, which she often did, when she was freaking out, "What am I gonna do, when we get to Brazil? I don't speak Brazilish, I'm so bad at other languages."

"Brazilish is not a word, and they speak Spanish in Brazil, too." Taylor replied, grabbing on to Sharpay's shoulders, forcing her to stay on ground.

"I don't speak that either, Tay." She whined, "I'm completely hopeless."

"I'm sure some of them speak English down there, and if not you just don't talk to them." Taylor said, calmly. They'd been walking for 5 minutes, and they came to a little shop, where they decided to take a look inside. "But you must know some words in Spanish?"

"I know dickhead." Sharpay said, looking at some t-shirts. Taylor raised her brows, Sharpay, who'd seen the brow-raising, continued; "I'm serious, Ryan taught me how to say it, when we were little."

"Ok, I wouldn't speak any Spanish then," Taylor giggled, as she walked away from the t-shirts and went over to look at some earrings. "Are we looking for anything special?"

"I wanna see, if they have the monkey top here. I hope they do, because then I'd be able to say; I got my monkey top in Mexico, where did you get yours?" Sharpay replied. She pulled out a very light yellow top from underneath the other's, and to her great joy it was a monkey top, "Oh, my God, Tay. They have it, they have it, they have it. I'm such a big fan of Nathalie Nielsen's clothing line 'What Not To Wear', and her monkey top idea is hilarious. Come, take a look."

Taylor went over to take a look at the top in Sharpay's hands. It was, as mentioned earlier, a very light shade of yellow with a monkey on it and a blue text, that said; 'This is why, I wear make-up!', which made it 50 percent hilarious. The monkey had the widest and stupidest grin, that would make anybody laugh, which made it a 100 percent hilarious.

She blinked a couple of times, but soon after burst out laughing, and Sharpay quickly joined her. A girl would have to have a lot sense of humour, if they were gonna wear this top, because it would be sorta like trash talking themselves, stating that they were ugly without make-up, but Sharpay could easily pull it off. First of, it was her sense of humour, and second of, she wasn't afraid of what people would think.

When they were done laughing, Taylor asked; "Are you gonna buy that?"

"Of course, I am." Sharpay smiled, as she paid for the top, and as they went outside again, she said, "And I'm gonna wear it, when we get back to the bus, too. Hopefully, Gabby will feel a little guilty then, for blowing me off. Is there anywhere I can change?"

They both glanced around, looking for a place, that Sharpay could change, but there didn't look to be any. So Sharpay did something very shocking to Taylor, she pulled the top, she was already wearing, off in the middle of the street and pulled the other one on. Sharpay didn't care, but Taylor obviously did. "Why did you do that, anyone could have seen you."

"Calm down, Tay. One of my motto is 'If you've got it, you need to show, but to a certain point.', and another is 'This is why, I wear make-up!'" Sharpay said, and pointed at the monkey top, she was wearing.

"And you don't think that reached a certain point?" Taylor exclaimed, and by that time they'd gotten back to the tour bus, and so had Gabriella and Troy.

"What did Shar do now?" Gabriella asked, the guilt washing all over her, when she noticed the top, that Sharpay was wearing.

"She pulled off her top in public." Taylor said, expecting Gabriella to be shocked, but surprisingly to her, she wasn't shocked at all.

"Oh, that only?" She grinned, and got eye contact with her 'best friend', "She's done things, that are much worse."

"Yeah, and usually with you by my side," Sharpay said, and when the first tear began its journey down her cheek, she stormed inside the bus and sat down, where her and Taylor were seated before.

"Tay, is it ok, that I sit with Sharpay for the rest of the trip, so that we can talk?" Gabriella asked with a hint of begging in her voice, and with a nod from Taylor, she went inside as well, only more graceful than her best friend. When she came inside, she sat down next to Sharpay.

Sharpay didn't even greet her, she simply said; "Do you like my top, Gabby?"

"Yes," Gabriella replied, guilt streaming through her body. She didn't exactly know what to say, but the best thing to do was probably just get the apologising over with. She knew Sharpay hated when people beat around the bush, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I bet you are." Sharpay said, turning around to look out of the window instead of at her best friend. She didn't want to see her face right now. She just wanted to be alone, she made sure that it could be heard in her voice. Gabriella didn't walk away, though, she stayed, and Sharpay could feel her best friend's eyes on her. Well, if she wasn't gonna go away, "Do you know how it feel to be dumped by the person you love the most?"

"No, who dumped you, Shar?" Even though her back was facing her front, Sharpay could hear, that Gabriella had no idea, what she was talking about.

"You did, damn it!" Sharpay said with a weak voice, that almost couldn't be heard, "For the best friend snatching Troy Bolton. We've been best friends for 14 years, and then this boy comes along, and it's all out the window."

"But I'm in love..." Gabriella began, but was cut off by Sharpay.

"In love?" She repeated, what had been said, disbelief in her voice, "Gabby, you've known the guy for little over a month, that's not enough to be in love. You always have your tongue down his throat, and when you don't have your tongue down his throat, you have your tongue down his throat, and when you done doing that, your tongue is _still_ down his throat! Oh yeah, and once in awhile, when you for once don't have your tongue down his throat, you cuddle and snuggle. You always have your hands all over each other, it's disgusting. Oh, I almost forgot, every once in a blue moon you have an actual conversation without spit swapping!"

"So this is what's up?" Gabriella slowly started to raise her voice, "Don't ever again talk to me about being in love, when you've never had a boyfriend yourself. You have no clue, what it's like to be in love."

Sharpay let out a big sigh. She kept looking outside the window, and she watched a little kitten spin around in circles, chasing it's own tale. It looked kinda funny, so she giggled. When the kitten got to the tenth time around itself, it got very dizzy, so it had to stop with the spinning. It walked around for a bit, kinda drunk-ish, and short after it fell to the ground, tired from all the chasing. She turned her head to face Gabriella again. "Look, Gabby. I really don't wanna start this huge fight, we can't recover from, and I honestly wanna be friends again, but I need for you to spend much more time with me, than you're doing now. Do you think, you can do that?"

"I can do that. I guess, I have neglected you a little." Gabriella admitted, but to the look Sharpay gave her, she added; "Ok, a lot. And I'm really, really sorry. It will never happen again, hopefully. I'm just afraid, that if I leave him, I will lose him."

Sharpay smiled, and gave her best friend the first hug for quite some time, "You're so sweet, Gabs. Of course, you're not gonna lose him. He really likes you. Do you think, that if he didn't, he would let you drag him to all these events?"

Everybody else entered the bus now, and they continued to drive towards their destination. The crew took the middle of the bus again, and Taylor and Troy took the back to give Sharpay and Gabriella some privacy and some time to talk, which was very appreciated.

"By the way, Sharpay?" Gabriella said, getting her blonde friend's attention again, "_Banana-phone!_"

"_Du, du, du, du, du, du_." Sharpay finished, and they both giggled. It was the song, they always goofed around to. It brought back so many good memories, and the past few weeks were totally forgotten.

"_Banana-phone." _Gabriella sang, giggling slightly, "_Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring!"_

"_Banana-phone!" _Sharpay finished, and they both broke into a fit of laughter, attracting all the attention in the bus.

Gabriella looked up, still giggling, "What?" she asked them.

"Now, come on people!" Sharpay said, eyeing them all, "We were just singing _Banana-phone_! Live a little." And then she turned to Gabriella, started a random place in the lyrics, and sang, "_I've got this feeling, So appealing, For us to get together and SING!_"

Troy turned to Taylor, as Gabriella begun on the whole "_Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring"_-thing again, "Are we going to have to listen to this all the way to Rio?" he questioned, "Are they always like this when they're together?"

"I don't know," Taylor shrugged, "I just met them!"

"Oh…" Troy said, leaning back in his seat, just as second round of _Banana-phone_ started in the middle of the bus.

--

They arrived to Rio late in the evening and checked into their suites, just wanting to get to bed. Taylor and Mr. McK had a room, while Gabriella and Sharpay shared again. Troy had gotten his own room just across the hall.

Gabriella didn't have time to unpack, she simply just went to bed. She was so tired, but also very happy. The rest of the trip had been hilarious thanks to her best friend. Sharpay was so funny, you were never bored with her. And they managed to sing _Banana-phone _around a million times, before Taylor blew up at them, telling them to quiet down.

Sharpay was not tired though, so she jumped into a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt before making her way down the stairs, wanting to check around the hotel. She didn't know why, but she had to check out every hotel, otherwise she couldn't sleep. She had to see if the hotel was a place someone would hide a bomb.

She took a seat in the lobby, just as she'd done a couple of weeks ago in the other hotel, and curled her legs beneath herself, relaxing. This was the life. It was already 11:30pm, so no one was really up. Definitely not cute little fan girls. She could just be herself, sit there and look around while relaxing.

She got to think of everything with Gabriella today. She was glad they made up, but she still didn't feel like she had forgiven Gabriella completely. It had hurt her a lot, what Gabriella did, but it was also good to be talking to her again. And she did seem like she appreciated Sharpay's friendship now that Sharpay had told her how she felt.

Sharpay closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, silently reminded herself that she couldn't fall asleep there. It was so comfy though. She could hear faint footsteps, but she was too lazy to open her eyes and see who it was.

"Don't fall asleep."

Sharpay opened one eye, and crooked an eyebrow, looking at Troy, a smirk across her lips, "No kiddin'."

"What are you doing down here?" Troy asked, taking a seat in the chair next to hers.

"Oooh, just taking a trip around the hotel, looking for Santa and the Easter Bunny." Sharpay replied, "After that I was gonna go into the kitchen, steal some jelly and peanut butter, and have my own private party on the rooftop. You?"

"Ha, you're so funny." Troy sarcastically said, rolling his eyes, "And for me… I was just… I was sitting in my room, alone. For once. And then it occurred to me that I haven't spoken to my dad in forever. So I went to see him, but then was when I realized that he wasn't here anymore. So I left my room, thinking I might need to call him." He paused, "Did he tell you anything? Anything at all? I mean, you must have talked to someone."

"He did." Sharpay replied, taking in a deep breath. It was now he was gonna ask. It was now she was supposed to tell him the horrible news. God, she didn't want to see him get hurt. How was he gonna react? Was he going to cry? Was she going to comfort him? _How_ was she going to comfort him? No, no. She was freaking out, and she couldn't even remember why now!

"What did he say?" Troy asked, scooting a tad closer to her, as far as he could. She had talked more to his dad then he had himself, and he felt kinda guilty now. Just the way Gabriella had to feel about Sharpay.

"He… had to leave Troy," Sharpay said, sitting up straight, looking him deep in the eyes, "It was important."

Troy's heart started beating faster, as he saw how serious she suddenly got, "What is it, Sharpay?" he asked, "What happened?"

"Your mother's cancer came back." Sharpay said, and you could hear the tears in her voice, as she struggled to stay strong, "He had to go back to stay with her. He left me a letter, telling me to tell you this when you asked."

"Oh my God…" Troy whispered, other words failing him. He just sat there, letting the words sink in. No way. His mother couldn't be sick again. His eyes shifted to Sharpay's, who looked just as hurt as him. He swallowed hard, as the blonde girl let a tear slid down her cheek.

"Come here." She whispered, pulling him in for a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder, why he closed his eyes, savouring it. She was the comfort he needed right now. Everything else could wait. Right now he just needed this.

_From Stessa:__ So yeah. Another chapter finished. Please tell us your thoughts? I think we did fairly well on this chapter. Anyway, Nathalie and I are planning to write a book like the one Sharpay and Gabriella used in the beginning. So yeah. If we're lucky it might get published, lol. And if not, then we're just gonna have to read it ourselves. Anyway, I'll let my co-writer leave a comment for ya…_

_From AK-tutti;__ Fairly well, Stesa? That's no good, you need to be confident, you need to say; "We did so great, that everybody will bow and we'll get the titles 'queen Nathalie and gueen Stessa' and we'll get our own country, and we'll get so famous, that the founders of the 'We-pretend-we're-dead Celebrity club' wants us to be members, when we pretend to 'die', and everybody will remember our names for all eternity." Oh, and by the way, I'm the weird one, if you haven't figured that out yet. And our book will get published and everything, and everybody will read, just you wait Stessa. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review. Don't let my weirdness scare you away. Let the reviewing begin._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here**_


	8. Chapter 8

_From AK-tutti;__ People, people, people. I am very disappointed in you all. We've never gotten that few reviews for a chapter, was it really that bad? I wanna thank those, who did review, though, I'll love you forever. Ok, so here we are again with chapter 8, and there haven't been that long wait for this, and that's simply because I'm going to England on Monday, and I wanted one more chapter posted before I went away._

_From Stessa;__ I'll leave it short: thanks to those of you who reviewed. _

_**Disclaimer; **__Unfortunately, we don't own High School Musical. We wish we did, but that's not the case._

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 8.**

Sharpay and Troy had fallen asleep down in the lobby still in hugging position, in fact the only difference from that morning and last night was, that their eyes were closed and they were lying on a couch together. People walking by might get the wrong idea, but it was totally innocent. Sharpay had wanted to go upstairs after awhile of hugging, but Troy really needed her, he was pretty shaken up by the news of his mother, and Sharpay chose to stay and calm him down. They must have fallen asleep.

"Sharpay? Troy? Wake up. Come on, wake up..." Taylor tried to wake them up, she was the first one awake of all of them, and luckily for Sharpay and Troy, the lobby was completely empty, except for Taylor of course. Nothing worked, though, she even tried kicking them. "SHARPAY! TROY!"

Finally. Sharpay fell down on the floor, from the fright she got from Taylor's yelling. Rubbing the back of her head, which she hit, Sharpay said, grumpily; "Why are you yelling, woman?"

"Well, you might wanna know, that you were sleeping in a very unfortunate way with mr. Troy Bolton, who's still on the couch. Why he didn't wake up by the funny little schrimp jump you made, when I yelled, I'll never know." Taylor explained, offering Sharpay her hand to help her get up from the floor, "You probably wouldn't want your best friend coming down here and find you like that, would you? And then you have rehearsals, y'know dancing and singing and all that jazz, that I know absolutely nothing about. Oh, and you have to be at the stadium, where you are gonna perform, at 4 this afternoon. You have sound checks and stuff there, and you also have to rehearse the dance routines there, so you are a 100 ready for tonight. We wouldn't want any mistakes, now would we?"

"Why are you talking to me like I'm 3 years old? I've done this for a year, I know how it works!" Sharpay asked, as Taylor helped her up, "You should really think about becoming a manager or something, you were acting like a pro before. Or is it something, that you have absolutely no interest in, and you've just been spending too much time with your dad?"

Taylor just rolled her eyes, this was classic Sharpay. "Look, Shar. I choose not to answer that, because if I do, I know who's gonna be bothering me all day, and I don't want that. Now, what are we gonna do about Troy? How are we gonna wake him up?"

"I have an idea, you wait here!" Sharpay exclaimed, clapping her hands together in joy. She ran out of the lobby and was back in 5 minutes with a bottle of water, when she was back in her old spot next to Taylor, she opened the bottle and got ready to pour it on Troy. "May I, please?"

With a nod from Taylor, she poured the water on Troy, and with a girlish scream he was awake and up from the couch. He knocked the bottle out of Sharpay's hand and yelled; "What the hell did you do that for?"

"You know, what they say Troy; a litre per day. You gotta start early." Sharpay said all innocently, and before Troy could say something back, everybody else entered the lobby. Gabriella ran into Troy's arms and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. "What am I, Gabs? Burnt toast?"

Gabriella giggled and hugged her best friend. To eyes it seemed like a long, deep hug by two friends, who really loved each other, but Gabriella whispered something in Sharpay's ear, that she didn't want the others to hear; "I'm warning you on before hand, Mr. McK is really, really strict. He wouldn't even let me drink coffee, when I woke up. I don't think, I'm gonna survive!"

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll make sure, you get your coffee." Sharpay whispered back, and they pulled apart. "So, rehearsals anyone?"

They all headed to the dance studio, that Mr. McK had rented for the day. There was a nice atmosphere, Sharpay couldn't quite figure out, what it was, that made the change, maybe it was because, the Sweethearts had made up and were friends again? Yeah, that was definitely it.

Gabriella grabbed Sharpay's upper arm and pulled her back, so they were a few feet behind the others. They still needed sometime for themselves, and she could tell, that Sharpay had been dying to tell her something, that Sharpay herself found funny, and that she believed Gabby would find funny as well. "Sharpay, I know you wanna tell me something, what is it."

"It's nothing important, you don't wanna know." Sharpay started out, but her best friend gave her the 'I don't believe you' eyes, so she decided to tell; "Ok. But it's nothing serious, so don't judge. Here goes; I feel really bad for those people who work at McDonald's. They have to wear those ugly uniforms and a cap with the words 'I'm loving it'."

"I've never really thought of that before. It's like their slogan backfiring on them." Gabriella said, giggling slightly. "Y'know, any slogan can backfire on people using them, you just have to think about it for awhile."

"You're absolutely right." Sharpay agreed, and for awhile there was no talking, they were both thinking of a slogan, that could backfire. "Uh, uh! I've got it! Burger King; Have it your way. And it's like 'well, my way is that I get those burgers for free!', and they can't really say anything then, because it's 'Have it your way'."

"Or how about this one? Coca Cola Zero 'Life as it should be'. In a life as it should be, you'd be handing me those coca cola's for free, y'know." Gabriella said, "Wow, Sharpay. We could get a lot of free stuff coming up with these things."

"You're totally right, Gabs. L'Oreal 'Because you're worth it'. If I'm worth it, then why are you charging me for it?"

They both started laughing, and sped up to catch up with their friends. They couldn't wait for tonight's show!

--

Gabriella and Sharpay finished their song off with a smile, and the audience broke into cheer and whistles. They bowed and thanked everyone, making their way down from stage, sitting in their nice, soft chairs.

"That was the Sweethearts, everyone!" the host said, and once again people started clapping and screaming.

Sharpay let out a deep sigh and smiled at Gabriella, "That went well, don't you think?"

"Yeah, we did good." Gabriella smiled, "I'm glad we're friends again. I hated it when you wouldn't speak to me."

"And I hated being mad at you." Sharpay said, leaning back in her chair, to really relax. Today had been rough. They had rehearsed and gone over dance steps forever, and they had barely had time to do much else. After that they'd gone straight to their dressing rooms, getting ready for their show. But it was worth it, because Sharpay loved doing this more than anything in the entire world. She hoped she and Gabriella could keep doing it together for many years.

"It's gonna be good to head home tomorrow!" Gabriella exclaimed, taking a sip of her glass.

"Yeah, and just… relax for a bit." Sharpay mumbled, "What are we gonna do when we get home?"

"I'm not coming home straight away," Gabriella told her, "I agreed with Mr. McK for you guys to drop me off in Mexico. I want to visit some family, so I guess you're gonna have to deal with Troy on your own. I'm sorry."

"I don't hate him, Gabby." Sharpay reassured her, "I despised him because he took you away from me, but you're back now, so I have nothing against him. I liked him when we first met, remember? I'm the one who told you guys to go out."

"That is right." Gabriella said, smiling slightly, "Thanks for that, Sharpay. I really love Troy, and I'm sorry about all the things I said to you about being in love and you never having a boyfriend. I didn't meant to hurt you."

"It's okay," Sharpay mumbled, "You were only telling me the truth. I don't have boyfriends, but that's because I'm me. I'm waiting for the right guy, y'know? And… I know I'll know when it's him. I know I will be able to feel it the time we kiss for the first time. That it's him."

"I never thought of you as the romantic type, Shar," Gabriella said, "But what you just told me is very romantic. I know you'll find him, don't worry, you'll find someone as great as Troy."

"Yeah, at least I hope so." Sharpay sighed.

"Ah, I know so."

--

"_I'm the lord and master, you all are bastards! Worship me or I'll stab your eyes 'till you bleed. I'm the lord and master._" Sharpay sang in her room the next day, when she was packing to go home. Gabriella had already packed her things and was on her way down to the bus with it. When Sharpay began singing another song, Troy walked past, but she didn't notice anything. "_So I'm a squirrel, and you're not, how pathetic you are. So I'm a squirrel, and you're not, you're just human, how pathetic you are. You don't have a fluffy tail, you don't have squirrelly wrath. You just build to destroy, while I collect some nuts, and you all suck!_"

"I don't hope, that's a new Sweethearts song, because that would really lower your popularity." Troy laughed, and Sharpay just rolled her eyes at him, not really up for it. It was pretty damn early in the morning. "So what do you wanna call it 'How Pathetic You Are'? Or maybe 'You All Suck'?"

"Troy, do me a favour. Go get hit by a bus." She snarled at him. She was usually very hyper in the morning, but she'd only had 2 hours of sleep. They'd gone to bed at 3 in the morning, because they had loads of things to do, before they went to bed that night. They had to be on stage 2 minutes before the new year to help count down, when the new year had kicked in, they had to sing a new year song and pretend to have fun on stage with hosts, and yeah it was fun. Then they had to go to the new years party after the concert, and they couldn't escape it. They finally got out at 2:30, and they were back at the hotel at 3, where they went straight to bed. Mr. McK had waken them up at 5 in the morning, and they got 10 minutes to pack, so they could be back in New Mexico at reasonable hours.

"That could be arranged, y'know. The bus is right outside, you just say the word." Troy said, still kidding. He didn't seem tired at all for someone, who'd only gotten 2 hours of sleep. "So what song were you singing?"

"'I'm The Lord & Master' and 'So I'm a Squirrel'. It's foamy songs." Sharpay explained, putting the last of her clothes in her suitcase. She tried to close it, but it was too packed. "Help me, please?"

Troy smiled and sat himself down on Sharpay's suitcase, and she finally got it to close. "See, if I hadn't been here, you wouldn't have been able to close it."

"My hero!" Sharpay replied, sarcastically. She handed him the suitcase, she smirked at him and left the room. Right before she left, she yelled over her shoulder; "And a real hero would carry my bags."

Troy groaned and carried Sharpay's suitcase down to the bus, regretting that he opened his stupid mouth, because it was really, really heavy. What could she possibly have in it? Clothes, make-up and a pink mic shouldn't weigh that much. When he finally came down to the bus, he threw the suitcase in and breathed out in relief. He turned around and saw Gabriella and Sharpay giggling at him, and that could only mean one thing; Sharpay had told Gabriella about upstairs. Great, just great. Now they were gonna tease him with it forever.

They entered the bus, and Troy could hear them whisper "my hero" as they walked past him, giggling. He shook his head and entered right behind them. When they got inside, Sharpay and Gabriella stormed to the back of the bus, screaming. It seemed, that they were just trying to keep themselves awake.

It would be nice, if they could hang out and talk all three of them, so Troy decided to take a seat right in front of them, and Taylor soon occupied the seat next to him. This ride was gonna be fun, he could feel it. And then it wouldn't seem that long, so he'd be home to see his mom, before he knew it.

--

"I'm tiiiiiiiiiired." Sharpay complained and rested her head on Gabriella's shoulder. "And this bus is so slow, it would be faster, if I jumped on my tongue from here to home."

"Hmm..." Gabriella tried to think of something, they could do to pass time. "Banana-phone?"

"NO!" Everybody in the bus yelled, except for Sharpay, who seemed to lit up by the thought of another round of banana-phone.

"I've got an idea!" Sharpay announced, and Gabriella turned to look at her, she couldn't wait to hear Sharpay's proposal, "How about we look out the window, and every time we see a red car, we hit Troy?"

Gabriella joyfully clapped her hands together and smirked at her boyfriend. "Me like that idea!"

Sharpay sat herself straight up, all excited. "So, on the count of 3?" With a nod from her best friend, she began the countdown, "1, 2, 3. GO!"

"Red car!"

"Red car!"

"Red car!"

"Red car, red car, red car."

"Red car!"

"Partly red car!"

After 5 minutes of that, Troy moved a few seats up, so there was some space between them, but so that they could still talk and stuff. Sharpay and Gabriella had told him, that he was no fun, but he seriously didn't want to get any bruises. If they still wanted to play the game, they could hit each other, Troy didn't want to be their punching bag. And of course they chose to become a little more serious, after Troy had moved himself.

"It's really bummern, that you're staying in Mexico for a few days, Gabs." Sharpay said, "But Sharpay, being the amazing person that she is, has found an upside to it. I'm getting a few days off then."

"Well, I can quickly make it to a downside again, my sweet love. I'm delaying the video shoot for the (Don't It Make You) Happy!/Still You Went single, and I'm delaying the cover shoot as well, and I know, how much you love those." Gabriella said and stuck her tongue out at Sharpay.

"Why do you do that?" Sharpay asked, faking to be upset, "I finally find an upside to being apart from my best friend for 3 whole days, and you absolutely have to go ruin it?"

"I'm sorry, Shar." Gabriella said, still going along with the joke, "I'll get you another monkey t-shirt, if you forgive me for the total meanness."

Sharpay thought about the offer and replied; "And now you've turned it back around. I forgive you, my fantabulously best friend."

"Oh, c'mon. Grow up!" Taylor interrupted, rolling her eyes at the two friends, "And stop making up words, that do not and will never exist, it's very annoying."

"She yelled at us, Gabs."

"She yelled at us, Shar."

"Me not like being yelled at."

"Me neither."

--

A couple of hours later after they'd dropped Gabriella off in Mexico, Sharpay made her way over to Troy and sat down next to him. She was very concerned about him, especially because of what she'd told him the other day. She wanted to make sure, he was ok. "Hey, Troy. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure, of course." He replied, not really paying attention to anything, "I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"When someone replies with a 'yeah, sure, of course' to an 'are you ok' question, it usually means, that the person is not ok." Sharpay said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "It's ok to be sad, Troy. It won't make you less of a man. And really, it's expected, she's your mother."

"I just want her to be ok, y'know." Troy said, his voice almost cracking, on the verge of tears.

"I do know." Sharpay said, she couldn't do anything but be there for him, so that's what she was gonna do, "But she will be ok."

"That's what I wanna believe, but when the cancer keeps coming back, maybe that means it's supposed to get her?" A tear escaped his eye, and it was soon followed by a lot of other tears.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Sharpay was stunned by the fact, that Troy would even consider thinking that. It was his mom, that they were talking about. But maybe if he had that attitude, it wouldn't hurt so bad, if the most terrible thing was gonna happen, and he would be even happier, if she recovered. Yeah, maybe. "The way I see it, she was given this horrible disease, because God believes, that she can handle it, that she can survive it."

"I really hope so, Shar." Troy said, his tears still falling, "But what if she doesn't, what if she can't?"

Sharpay didn't say anything, because what could she possibly say to that? Instead she hugged him tight, letting him know, that she was there for him. That was really all she could do right now. Be there for him. She decided to change the conversation a little, still in the same genre but a little less depressing. "So, have you told Gabby about all of this?"

"No."

"Why? Don't you think, she deserves to know?" Sharpay raised her voice, she couldn't believe him sometimes. He hadn't told his own girlfriend about all of this, and she could've been there better for him, than Sharpay could herself. "She's your girlfriend, Troy, and she would want to be there for you."

"That's exactly my point, Shar." Troy explained, "If I had told her, she would've stayed and gone back with us, and she deserves to spend some time with her family, so that's why I didn't tell her."

There was a long silence. It wasn't an awkward one, but it was still a little uncomfortable to be in. Sharpay decided to break it with something, she'd wanted to tell him for a long time, "Thank you."

"For what?" Troy asked, surprised. He hadn't really done anything for Sharpay to be thankful for. He'd snatched her best friend away from her and annoyed the crap out of her, why would she be thankful?

"For taking care of her." She said, looking down at her feet, this was really difficult for her to say, "Even though you sorta stole her from me for awhile, you're a really great guy. I love Gabby, and I've been her best friend for 14 years, and it's nice to finally see her with a guy she deserves. She's had her share of bad guys, and now she's got you, a great guy she really loves, and it's nice to see her this happy. So thank you, Troy."

Troy didn't reply, he just let it all sink in. Sharpay didn't see him as a bad guy, which was great, because he really believed they could be very good friends, like they seemed to be on the way of in the beginning. And Gabriella loved him? Wow.

While Troy sat in his own thoughts, Sharpay began humming banana-phone to pass time, they still had a long way to go, and she wouldn't allow herself to be bored, and she could see, that Troy needed some time to think, so she wasn't gonna bother him. She was gonna shut up, and she was gonna hum banana-phone, and Taylor could cover her ears, if she had a problem with that.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful, and they got there safely. Sharpay and Troy decided to leave it to the others to unload the car, they just headed for the Bolton's house, hoping to catch Mr. B there.

They entered, kicking their shoes off in the hallway, going straight for the living room. They knew he was home, because the front door had been unlocked. They stopped in the doorway, when they saw him sitting in his chair, sorrow covering his features. Sharpay immediately felt out of place. What was she doing there anyway? This was a family matter, she didn't belong there.

She crossed the floor though, and kneeled down in front of him, putting her arms around him in a hug. She padded his back gently. She didn't know how bad his news were, but she was positive Lucille hadn't gone better. He leaned into her touch, letting her comfort him.

Troy just watched them, wondering about what was going on with his mom, but also when his dad had gotten so close to Sharpay. He went across the floor too, sitting down in the couch.

Sharpay pulled back, a small smile playing on her lips, "So, I'll leave the two of you alone now, okay? You have a lot you need to talk about, and I'll go home. Call me, or step by if one of you need me or _anything_. I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Sharpay," Mr. B whispered, as she stood up, "We will remember that."

"Bye Troy!" Sharpay waved, making her way out of the room.

"Son," Mr. B told Troy, once the front door had smacked close, "We need to talk."

--

Sharpay had been trying to pass time all night long. She had tried watching TV, dancing around to music, and she even tried to clean, but nothing could take her mind of Mr. B and Troy alone in their house, with a sick wife and mother in the hospital. She knew she did the right thing about letting them have their space, but she still believed they needed her.

After unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to work the vacuum cleaner, she gave up and took a long, hot bubble bath. It was nice and relaxing, but she couldn't enjoy it completely. When she believed she was clean enough from the long trip, she got up and dried herself off, jumping into some comfy clothes. She blow-dried her hair and went into the living room, once again turning on the TV.

Her eyes shifted towards her cell phone on the table, wondering if she should call Troy up and ask if he was okay. She really had the urge to do it, but she didn't want to seem noisy. No matter what she wanted to do, there was also some part of her that told her she shouldn't.

She was about to call it a night, even though it was still quite early, when there was a knock on her door. She looked at the clock, confused, wondering who it was. She turned off the TV, and hurried into the hallway, opening the door to find Troy on the other side.

He looked horrible to put it nicely. It looked like he'd been crying, so Sharpay quickly pulled him into the apartment, closed the door, and then wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. She could feel him shaking, and she was sure he was gonna cry again. The news must have been really bad.

When he had calmed down a little, she brushed her fingers against his cheek, and grabbed his hand, leading him into the living room, where they sat down on the couch, close together.

"What happened Troy?" Sharpay whispered, stroking his hand, "Has she gotten worse?"

"She's dead." Troy said, looking up at her, his blue eyes full of sorrow, "My mother is gone, Sharpay! I'll never see her again, and I didn't get to say goodbye."

"Oh my God, Troy, I'm so sorry." Sharpay said, pulling him in for another hug, "I don't know what to say… how do you feel, do you need anything? Remember, I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Troy whispered, letting his head rest on her shoulder, "But right now the only thing I need is you."

"You've been needing me a lot lately, haven't you?" Sharpay joked, trying to ease the tension a little.

"Yeah well." Troy said, pulling back again, "You're so sweet, and you're always there. It means a lot to me, Sharpay."

"Don't worry about it…" Sharpay told him, stroking his cheek again, "You're cool guy, Troy. And I'm sorry about all this, I wish I could make you feel better."

Troy's lips curled into a little smile. It was barely there, but Sharpay could see it. He then looked her in the eyes, and brown met blue. Without even thinking about the consequences, Troy closed the little space between them, by pressing his lips onto hers.

She responded for a second, before pulling back, "What are you doing?" she questioned, her brown eyes floating with questions, but also… affections.

"I need you, Sharpay…" Troy whispered, pressing his lips onto hers again, leaning his body against hers. And before she knew it, she was responding to his kisses. She had only been dreaming about this in what seemed forever now. She knew it was wrong, because he was dating her best friend. But really, she couldn't stop herself.

Maybe she needed him as much as he needed her.

_From Stessa;__ There. I hope you liked this, and let the Troypay begin, folks. Please review._

_From AK-tutti;__ Yeah, we hope you liked it. The Troypay arrived a little sooner than expected, but my dear friend Stessa thought it was time, even though I wanted it to take a little while longer. And yeah, what she said; please review._

_**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :)**_


	9. Chapter 9

_From AK-tutti;__ Hola everybody! Missed us? We know it has been an extremely long time, since we last updated, and we're very sorry about that. We almost forgot, what was gonna happen in this chapter, but we just refreshened our memories the best we could, and we get it done. So we really hope, you're gonna like it. Oh, and say a prayer for me, I'm trying to convince my mom to let me drop out of school, because in Denmark you don't really need 10__th__ grade, they teach you just the same as in 9__th__. And it's pure torture without my two best friend's, who finished just before the summer, and Linda, who did the same. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of losers, I can't even talk to, and I've got brand new teachers, who treat us like we're kindergarten kids. I'm sorry about that, but I just needed to get it out._

_From Stessa:__ And there you have it folks. An update from us, finally! We apologise about the wait. The two of us really should get better at updating this story. It's like.. we talk about what is gonna happen, and we have all these plans, and we do have the time, but ah… we don't exactly get it done. Sorry again. _

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical. _

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 9.**

Troy groaned and stretched his arms, keeping his eyes closed as he felt the faint sunlight warm his skin through the window. He hugged his cover close, letting the sweet scent hit his nose. It smelled amazingly good. He smiled to himself, content with what happened last night. After dating for so long, him and Gabriella had finally taken their relationship to the next level.

He opened his eyes slowly and turned to the side, ready to greet his girlfriend with a morning kiss, but he froze when he saw that the hair sticking out from the cover wasn't brown, but blonde.

_Oh shit!_

He suddenly remembered all the well what happened yesterday. He learned his mom was dead, and then he went to Sharpay's apartment, not Gabriella's… and then he kissed Sharpay, _not_ Gabriella. And lastly, he slept with Sharpay, _definitely not_ Gabriella.

What had he gotten himself into? He felt so great two minutes ago when he woke up. Satisfied, happy, smiley and just great. Last night had been… mind-blowing, but it had been with the wrong girl! The thing he hated the most about it was just that he had really enjoyed it. Now he felt guilty instead.

He had cheated on Gabriella, and to top it all, it was with her life long best friend, her partner, and a girl he had come to love as a really good friend.

He seriously thought about jumping out of bed and leave the house before Sharpay woke up, but that would only make it all worse. He had to face it… He bit his lip slightly and reached his finger out, poking Sharpay stiffly in the shoulder.

"Leave my chocolate chip cookie alone, you idiot!" she mumbled, slapping his hand away, as she turned onto her side.

He couldn't help but chuckle by that. That girl always dreamt about chocolate chip cookies, didn't she? He stopped though, when she turned around again, and he came face to face with her, and her very naked chest.

He simply reached out again and started shaking her, "Sharpay!? Sharpay! Wake up! Shar-paaaay!"

She slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the sunlight. Two seconds later, she practically lost her jaw and sat up in bed, pulling the comforter all the way up to her chin, not wanting him to see her like that a minute longer. She just stared at him, her eyes wide, not believing what she was seeing.

In that moment it all came crashing back. The hug in the hallway, and the kiss on the couch. After that, it had pretty much been sex on the couch, and then sex in the bedroom as well.

"Oh my God!" she shrieked, hitting her hand hard into the mattress, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit… Not good, Sharpay, _so_ not good!"

"I'm right here." Troy told her, reminding her that he was there as well, and that they probably had some sort of talk coming up. Not that he knew how those things went. He'd never slept with his girlfriend's best friend before.

"I know, and you shouldn't be!" Sharpay said, "Shit Troy, how could this happen!?"

"I don't know. I was sad, and you were there for me." Troy said, as if that would justify, what they'd done. He knew it wouldn't, nothing would, and he felt really bad about it, "But I think we should talk about this, Sharpay. Calmly."

Sharpay circled her finger in the air, indicating for him to turn around. If they were gonna talk, she wanted to be fully dressed. Troy got that, so he got out of the bed, grabbed all his clothing and hurried out of the bedroom.

That morning, probably for the first time ever, she didn't care, what she wore, so she just threw on some underwear and a heaven blue, short summer dress. It didn't really match the season, but why should she care? She'd screwed up big time, she'd slept with her best friend's boyfriend.

She mentally kicked herself all the way into the living room, where Troy was waiting for her. When she stepped into living room, Troy didn't even look up, he probably felt as bad about this, as she did herself. She seated herself in her favourite chair, and Troy sat in the sofa. There was nothing but silence in the room for a very long time, they were both very humiliated with themselves.

Sharpay cleared her throat, she was very nervous; "So um... that talk? I don't really know, how those talks go, because I've never really considered myself as a backstabbing bitch before, who'd sleep with her best friend of 14 years' boyfriend. But I'm thinking it's gonna go something like this: you're gonna say something like 'Gabriella never has to know, we'll just pretend it never happened', and then I'm gonna go 'Oh, but Troy, are you sure, that's such a good idea?'. And then, because you're so obsessed with Gabby not finding out, you say 'Please, Sharpay, let's just pretend nothing happened. If Gabriella finds out, it could ruin our relationship'! And then I'm gonna reply sarcastically: 'Ya think?', but after a little silence, I'll add something like 'I can try, but I don't know if it's gonna work. Gabby and I have known each other for 14 years, I think she'd know if something's up'.

So basically everything which needs to be said has been said, so you sigh and finally say 'Okay, as long as we're both trying to cover up. We wouldn't want Gabriella to get hurt, and even more, we don't wanna be the ones, who actually hurts her'. And of course, I agree with that. After another silence, this one a long one, and the conversation has past, I start going back to my usual self, y'know, with freaking out and everything. Guilt and pretendingness, those things aren't really a great mix, and when I feel guilty, I'm not really a good pretender and everything. And after a lot of freaking out, mostly on my account, I end this whole talk or conversation or whatever with a 'this never happened', and then you get up and leave!"

She paused to catch her breath, but Troy didn't say anything, he just stared at her, an eyebrow raised. "Y'know if you feel like it, I mean, if you're still sad after the whole thing with your mom, you can stay. What am I saying? Of course you're still sad, this will take a very long time to get over, but still... you can stay, if you want to, but I have certain rules now, just so you know. The first one is: all the rest of the while you're here, we will not stay in the same room or communicate with each other, am I making myself clear? That's very good. Now, for me to explain the rest of the rules to you, we'd have to be in the same room, and we'd also have to communicate with each other, and that's strict against my rules. So you can just stay in here and maybe watch some TV, and I'll go... maybe put some make-up on and stuff... in another room... preferably the bathroom... so uhm... buh-bye... or toodles..? Or y'know, whatever... Bye!"

Then she rushed to bathroom and slammed the door shut, leaving Troy all by himself in the living room, without letting him even get one tiny word in.

Well, she'd said that he could stay, if he wanted to, and he could watch TV, if he wanted to. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and tried to turn on the TV, but it did not work. He tried again, again and again, but still nothing happened. Defeated, he made his way to the bathroom door and knocked.

It took a while, but Sharpay finally opened the door. She had a hairbrush stuck in her hair, and she looked rather irritated at the fact, so annoyed she asked; "What do you want, Troy? Can't you see, I'm brushing my hair?"

"Yeah, I can see that, and you're doing a fantastic job." Troy replied, sarcastically. He held up the remote and gave it to Sharpay, "Your remote doesn't work, I can't turn on the TV."

"First of, do not speak ill about the 'Zapper', and second of, you're supposed to go like this." She grabbed the 'Zapper' from his hand and pressed the red button, followed by 7427729, "It's locked, you have to press the code, if you wanna turn on the TV. And don't speak ill about the 'Zapper'."

She handed the 'Zapper' back to Troy, he took it from her and said; "Thanks. Um, how come you have it locked?"

"Because I'm not really that big a fan of my brother watching porn on my TV, when he comes to visit, it's disgusting, so I locked it, and he'll never know the code." She explained, a disgusted look on her face, thinking back on those days. "Anyway, you've got full access to all the channels now, but I warn you Troy Bolton: no porn. That's the first of my TV rules, you break that, and I'm gonna have to beat you with a wet teabag in the eye 'till you bleed, are we clear?" Troy gulped and nodded, he didn't dare speak, it seemed Sharpay was really hardcore against porn. She nodded too, and she slammed the door shut again and yelled; "And there will be no more communication!"

Troy walked back to the sofa, sat down and watched some TV, thinking about how he was gonna act tomorrow, when Gabriella came home. Sure Sharpay had agreed for the both of them, that they wouldn't say anything, but the guilt was still there, and it was gonna be hard to lie to her because of that. He would just have to take it as it came, there was nothing else, that he could do.

He flicked through the channels and settled on a channel, that was showing some good old 'Tom & Jerry'. He heard the water running and figured, that Sharpay probably was taking a shower. He was tempted to join her, he really was, but it would be wrong. He loved Gabriella, he felt guilty for sleeping with Sharpay, and he didn't want to hurt the girl, he was in love with, and if that meant, that he had to lie to Gabriella, he was gonna do that just to spare her the pain. He was also very guilty, because he realised, he was starting to get feelings for Sharpay, but he couldn't allow himself to fall for her, for she was his girlfriend's best friend.

He fell in some kind of trance with his own thoughts, and it was first, when Sharpay stepped out of the shower and began singing '(Don't It Make You) Happy!' in the bathroom, he came back to reality. He continued watching Tom & Jerry, wondering why people found it funny, when Tom never caught Jerry, and Jerry always won over Tom, it should get tiring in the length, but funnily it didn't.

Sharpay was no longer singing, when a knock on the door was heard. Troy wondered, who it could be, and the only person, he could think of, was in Mexico until the next day. Of course, it could be her brother, but why would he knock on the door, and then again, thinking of what he'd thought of a little while ago, why on earth would Gabriella knock?

"Sharpay, the door!" He yelled lazily from the sofa, as he watched Tom bang the dog, Spike, in the head with a bat. Sharpay did not answer, though, or show any sign of having heard him at all, so he tried again, "Shar, someone is at the door. Hello? Door. Someone. Knocking. Open." Sharpay still didn't answer, so with a sigh he got up from the couch, made his way to the door and opened it. On the other side stood none other than his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez. He suddenly got all nervous, he hadn't expected her home until tomorrow. He tried yelling after Sharpay again, "Sharpay! You've got company, get out here now!"

As Troy led Gabriella inside, Sharpay screamed at him from the bathroom; "How many times do I have to repeat it? There will be no more communicating!"

She stormed into the living room to scream more at Troy, but she was surprised to see, who was there. She put on her fake giggle to try and cover up. It didn't work at all, Gabriella knew her too well for it to.

"Shar." Gabriella tilted her head to one said and gave her best friend a very weird look, "Did you guys have a fight?"

Troy and Sharpay glanced quickly at each other, and they both gave small nod, agreeing to go with that. "Uhm, yeah. Sure."

"Mind telling me about what?" Gabriella questioned, thinking they were acting rather strange.

"Troy pushed me up against the wall!" Sharpay exclaimed like a little girl, but Troy shook his head, he didn't want their lie to be a lie, where he'd hurt Sharpay. She didn't care, she just nodded and continued, "Yeah, you did. I have a bruise to prove it. See!"

She pulled up her dress and revealed a large bruise on her lower back, only a little above her thong.

"Sharpay, you're mooning us, pull that thing down!" Gabriella yelled in a high-pitched tone, but continued in a much calmer tone after Sharpay had pulled her dress down, "It really looks like it hurts. Why would you do that to her, Troy?"

"Uhm..." Troy looked down, thinking hard. He wasn't as good as Sharpay to come up with things really fast, but he was gonna try, "Because I.. I mean, she.. I... I... Uhm, I.."

"I read his diary, and he got mad." Sharpay said, looking down as well, faking to be ashamed of herself, which luckily this time Gabriella bought. "But can you blame me? I mean, a guy keeping a diary, one gets curious to see, what thoughts he might have. It's interesting, when guys write diaries, I think. Oh, and by the way, Gabs, on page 23 he wrote, that he thinks your coffee obsession is very cute. And on page 15 he wrote, that he once had a crush on Goldie Hawn, and I know it has nothing to do with you, but I think it was worth mentioning."

Gabriella nodded and let it all sink in, before she said; "So where's the diary now, you gave it back to him, right? Where is it, Troy?"

"He chased me around to get the diary back, and I accidentally ruined it." Sharpay replied, trying to look as ashamed as ever, and she did a good job at it.

"How?"

"I flushed it down the toilet."

"Again, how?"

"Ok, so I tried to flush it down the toilet, but it wouldn't go down, and then the pages were all ruined, and that's when Troy got mad and pushed me up against the wall."

"Have you worked this out?" Gabriella asked, pointing at Sharpay, then at Troy. She walked into the open kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Sure, but we're trying to keep the communication system on a low, so we don't get at each other's throats again." Sharpay said, nodding her head, as if it would make it more believable.

"How did you really get that bruise?" Troy whispered to her, so Gabriella couldn't hear, and it took a long time, before Sharpay replied with a whisper; "No communication!"

When Gabriella came back into the room, she was all cheerful and bouncy. "Sharpay, I've got a lot of plans for, what you and I should do together today. I'm spending all day with you, I've decided. And you know what? A pink version of the monkey top has just gotten in stores, and remember I promised you one? So we're gonna get it today, and I was thinking, we should go to movies, after we've gone shopping. What do you think, Shar?"

"That sounds great, Gabs." Sharpay replied, trying to sound cheerful, but really she felt bad for Troy. He'd just lost his mom, and his girlfriend had no idea, now she was gonna go shopping with and spending all the day with her best friend, and they'd be leaving Troy all by himself in a terrible state. Sharpay wanted to yell out 'Troy's mom is dead', but it was for Troy to tell Gabby about it, when he was ready to do so. Troy gave her a reassuring smile, sorta to tell her it was ok to go, and that he would be ok, but she still felt bad. "But what about Troy?"

"Oh, Troy'll be at my apartment, when I get back, so I'll be able to spend a little time with him." She gave Troy a loving smile, "Now, we've gotta go Shar, we've got a big day ahead of us."

With that, Gabriella grabbed Sharpay's hand and dragged them both out of there, leaving Troy all alone yet again.

--

"So where to now?" Gabriella asked, after she'd just paid for Sharpay's new pink monkey top. She handed the bag with the top in it to Sharpay and walked out of the store, but Sharpay didn't follow.

"What are you doing?" Sharpay said, sounding like Gabriella had just done the worst possible thing ever. "They've opened a 'What Not To Wear' store in the Albuquerque Mall, while we were in Rio without me not knowing anything about, that it was gonna happen, and you're leaving it after only 10 minutes? Gabs, that just doesn't seem right, shame on you. We should stay here for at least a half an hour before leaving, maybe we can find something else good in here."

"Yeah, I guess we could stay in here a little while longer." Gabriella gave in, she knew 'What Not To Wear' was Sharpay's favourite clothing brand, and now they had a store, that only sold that brand. She knew her best friend must've felt like, she was in heaven.

"Thank you!" Sharpay said in a sing song voice for humorous effect, and Gabriella of course giggled at her best friend. "Let's go look at the print tops and tees. Maybe we can find something almost at the same level of fun as the monkey top."

She grabbed Gabriella's hand and dragged her with over to, where they kept the print tees. Gabriella couldn't stop giggling, Sharpay was like 'Fnuggi' in a candy shop.

Sharpay held up a top with the print text 'Yes, I am wearing this!', she looked at the top, then at Gabriella, then at the top again and back at Gabriella to show, that she wanted her opinion.

"Well, I like the statement, if you can call it that, and it's really colourful, I think it's you." Gabriella smiled, as she picked up at tee with the print of a sloth and the text 'But my mom says I'm special on the inside' on it. "How about this one?"

Sharpay's mouth formed an O, and she stepped slowly forwards, reaching out her hand to take it, saying; "I gotta have it. That and the other, I gotta, Gabs. Seriously, I think I'll die, if I don't buy it."

Gabriella gave it to her and smiled, as Sharpay ran to pay for the clothing, she had in her hands. She felt her cell vibrate in her pocket, but she ignored it. She was gonna have fun with her best friend on their last day off, before they went back to work, so whoever texted her could wait!

But something weird happened, when Sharpay came back, her mood had completely changed, she seemed sad, and she'd gotten all quiet, not the usual for Sharpay Evans. Gabriella wanted to ask, what was wrong, but Sharpay walked straight past her, before she even got the chance. She raced after her and tried to catch up, which didn't take long to do, because Sharpay's walk matched the expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Sharpay?" Gabriella asked, concerned about her best friend's sudden mood change. "You just flipped a 180."

"Nothing." Sharpay lied, but the truth was, that it had all just caught up with her. She despised herself for what she'd done towards Gabriella, and she despised herself even more for acting all cheerful around her best friend, and as if everything was ok, when she'd been the worst best friend in history. But what she despised most of all, was that she'd developed feelings for her best friend's boyfriend, and that she could still look Gabriella in the eyes was beyond her. She wanted to yell out, what she'd done, she wanted to confess everything, but she couldn't do it. Truth was, that Sharpay felt absolutely horrible, and Gabriella would feel hell of a lot worse, if Sharpay revealed, what had happened last night. "Everything is fine. So you talked about seeing a movie? I hear The Simpsons should be a hoot."

--

Troy was hanging around Gabriella's flat practically all day. He'd left Sharpay's place pretty soon after the girls left, because he couldn't stand to be around there. It reminded him about what happened last night, and even though he hated himself for it, he couldn't help but want it again. It was like… _perfect_. Their night had been perfect. But how could it be perfect when he had a girlfriend, whom he was so in love with?

He mused over all these annoying questions all day, when he'd flipped on the TV, taken a shower to get all the Sharpay-smell off him, and listened to all their CD's and singles. He loved to hear their voices, even though their style of music was not really one he'd listen to if he had to buy a CD in a shop.

He couldn't stand to go home either. His father was making all sorts of arrangements about his mother's death. About funeral, and flowers and such, and he really wasn't up to face the facts yet. Plus, he still needed to tell Gabriella what had happened. She was his girlfriend, so she deserved to know that his mom was dead. And he was gonna tell her as soon as she got home, which would be very soon, according to the text message she just send him.

He was right, because 5 minutes later, she came into the apartment, throwing several shopping bags onto the big chair in the other end of the room. She turned around, and greeted him with a sloppy kiss on the lips, and he happily kissed back, enjoying her presence. It got so lonely, hanging around with himself.

"Gabby…" he smiled, pulling her down to sit next to him, on the couch, "I need to speak to you…"

"Uh-oh…" Gabriella giggled, a bit serious though, as she watched his face closely, "You sound serious, and you look weird. Just as Sharpay did all day. Does she have something to do with this? Not more diary-drama I hope?"

"No," Troy chuckled, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, "We're over that, it was just silly. It's something I need to tell you, something important."

"Okay…?" Gabriella whispered, sensing this was indeed really important. She hoped it wasn't bad news, but judging by the way he looked at her, it was.

"Uhm, when I got home, my dad was home alone," Troy begun, already feeling his emotions flash through his body, because of the sensitive subject that was his mother now, "My mom she… my mom she…- she…"

"She what, Troy?" Gabriella questioned, her eyes wide, "What happened to your mom?"

How come it had been so much easier to tell Sharpay? How come he couldn't just tell Gabriella and expect her to comfort him, like he'd done with Sharpay? What was wrong with him? Troy shook his head lightly, and then took in a deep breath, wanting to get it over with, "My mom she… she died, Gabriella."

"Oh…" Gabriella's face fell immediately, and then her tears started flowing down her cheeks, "She died? That's so sad!"

Troy nodded slowly, not understanding how she could be so sad about it. She knew his mother, sure, but she didn't know her that well. They've met one or two times, on very rare occasions, and still, she acted like it was her own mother who was dead. Troy didn't know how to react to that, because he'd rather liked Sharpay's reaction. She'd not been crying or anything, she'd just pulled him in for a hug, and comforted him, which was what he needed the most at the moment.

And God… her comfort…

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, hardly moving at all. She just watched him with sad eyes, big, brown eyes filled with salty tears, "What about your dad?"

"Uhm…" Troy didn't know what to say, he just breathed out, and tried to get it together, "We're holding up, I guess… I talked to Sharpay yesterday before she stole my diary, flushed it in the toilet, and I pushed her. We talked it through, I guess, so I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here!" Gabriella finally whined, pulling him in for a hug, "Sit down here, and I'm gonna make us some coffee. We can either talk or watch a movie… while drinking coffee."

"I love your weird coffee obsession." Troy whispered, watching her as she stood up and made her way towards the kitchen.

"And I love you." she told him, and went into the kitchen, out of sight.

"Yeah," Troy whispered, getting lost in thought, "And I thought I loved you…"

--

The following couple of days (or was it weeks, the both of them lost count) Troy and Sharpay floated through time, not really paying attention. They both felt extremely guilty about everything.

Sharpay buried herself in writing songs, and piano rehearsals, while learning all those new dance steps Gabriella had talked about, and Troy spent a lot of time with his father, and with Gabriella, trying to forget everything too. He was very sad and depressed, and Gabriella naturally believed it was because of his mother, when really, he thought most about everything that went on with Sharpay recently.

And when they were all together, Troy and Sharpay acted all jumpily around each other, and if their bodies accidentally touched, they'd pull back quickly and blush like maniacs. Gabriella noticed all these little things, but she assumed a lot of stuff, so she never questioned their actions.

It was absolutely horrible for both Troy and Sharpay, but there was nothing they could do about it. The memories they had from their one night was clear like crystal for both of them, except the other didn't know so, which was probably good, since it wasn't supposed to happen, ever again.

Sharpay was hanging around alone writing on a new song, on her piano, finally having some much needed time alone. The lyrics were floating around in her brain, with the melody almost done. She was wearing cosy clothes, and her hair was in a loose bun. She didn't have on any makeup… she would really scare her fans if they saw her.

But luckily they didn't, because she was all alone!

She ran her fingers over the keys, playing the next line, "_I fell…_" she paused, and arched her eyebrow slightly, figuring out how to come around the first line of her song. She had the chorus already, and some of the second verse, but she needed a great beginning, "_I came down,_ ah nooo… _I fell…_" she paused and wrote 'I fell' in the little notebook next to her, and casually scratched her nose, "_I fell in a perfect way?"_ she paused, as she crossed something out, and wrote something else, "_I fell in a perfect way_, oh yes, there you go, Sharpay! This ain't that hard… _'Cause I can't stop loving you, _ah, something catching, oh I know, _un-love you. Unlove you. _The chorus.. I have the chorus, _I can't unlove you, can't do that_…" she smiled at herself and giggled, "Yuup, there we go."

She wrote a few more lyrics down, and then paused to take a breather. She hated to admit this to herself, but the song was all for Troy. She was never gonna show this to anyone, not even Gabriella, whom she usually showed everything to, and shared all her secrets with. But the feelings she had for Troy, hence the song, was not for Gabriella's ears. It was her little secret, because she was never gonna tell Troy either.

But it was hard. It was so hard, because all she wanted to do when she saw him was throw herself at him, and shower him with kisses, and then pull him into the bedroom and have some crazy, kinky sex with him, because he brought all those feelings up in her. She couldn't stop thinking about him, but she needed to. That was why she decided to write this song. To get her feelings out, and when she was done, she would get herself a date with some cute, but annoying guy, and date him for awhile, until Troy was all forgotten.

That.was.her.new._plan_.

What Sharpay didn't know was, that Troy had been struggling a lot of his own. He couldn't stop thinking about her. She was on his mind 24/7, unless when he was with her. Which he was a lot of times, but Gabriella was always there, so he had to fight the urge he got, when he wanted to have her, and make sweet, sweet passionate love to her.

When he was alone with Gabriella, she often asked him if he was okay, because he looked sorta out of it. And he always told her, he was thinking about his mom, and how he missed her, and of course she believed him. He felt guilty as hell because of the way he was acting, but he couldn't help it. He saw blonde hair in his dreams, and pictured piercing brown eyes when he stared into space. There was nothing he could do. Sharpay had him whipped.

But he was dating Gabriella!

That line kept entering his head again and again, which was why he never got as far as to go back to Sharpay's apartment, and push her up against the wall and kiss her like he had never kissed anyone before.

Right now, he was sitting at home alone, reliving the night in his mind. What had before been a blur to him, was now as clear as ever. Every little detail came back to him in small flashbacks, and suddenly the whole night was there, and he couldn't help but think about it.

He wondered if Sharpay had these thought too, but she probably didn't. She was probably moving on, and had burned her couch and the sheets they'd slept on. He knew it was to exaggerate it a little bit, but Sharpay was different, and it seemed like something she'd do. He really believed she would.

Ah, now he really needed to see her. He didn't care if she was still holding her 'no communicating' policy, because he needed to sort this out with her. They needed to talk more about it. Not just Sharpay talking, but really discussing this. If she was having any feelings the same as him, they needed to do something about it, because it was driving him crazy, it really was. And if she didn't have these thoughts at all, he could move on, and just… focus on Gabriella.

He grabbed his jacket and threw it on, hurrying towards Sharpay's condo. It was cold outside, since it was still winter, but the quick walk would warm his body. It wasn't that far anyway, he remembered from the night they slept together. He'd walked back then, because he needed fresh air, and had somehow ended up at her place.

He went up the stairs in the apartment building, and rang the doorbell several times, before she finally opened up. When she did, she just looked at him, questions floating through her brown pools. She looked surprised to see him there. But also… she looked kinda relieved to finally see him. She looked happy, yet confused. And like her heart was beating a million times an hour.

She looked exactly like he felt.

Before she got a chance to speak, he did what he'd dreamt of doing since their night. He pushed her gently into the wall, and placed his lips on top of hers, kicking the door close. He could feel her tense for a second, but then she kissed back, which gave him a huge confidence boost.

She wrapped her small hands around his neck, and he rested his against the wall, beside her head. Their lips brushed over each other, and they both felt relief stream through their bodies. Troy's heart started beating faster and faster, while Sharpay's skin rose goosebumps. Everything was good in the world again. Everything was right, even though it was so wrong.

Sharpay pulled away from him, breathing heavily, "Troy… what? What's going on? Troy…?"

"I need you, Sharpay," Troy told her, looking deeply into her eyes, "I need you so bad… Don't you think we can work something out? I can't lose you!"

She was still for a second or two, just staring into the blue ocean that was his eyes. She breathing in and out again, thinking things over. He could almost see the wheels turning inside her head, "It's wrong, Troy…" she whispered, though she was giving in.

"I know…" he said, brushing his finger over her cheek, "But I need you…" and then he leaned forward again, catching her lips in another kiss, as they stumbled towards her bedroom, already undressing each other.

_From Stessa: __So yeah. That took us a long time to write, but ah… I think it was worth the wait? Or wasn't it? Did I just imagine it being all good? Uhm, yeah, I really liked this chapter, I think it's our best yet. I'm gonna beg you – I'm down on my knees – to review us now. We were kinda stuck for awhile, so I do think we deserve it. And I do apologise for any spelling mistakes. I wrote one of my parts really quickly, so a few things might have slipped. And now onto mein freund, take it away, my dear…_

_From AK-tutti:__ What she said. And thank you, sweetie, for saying mein freund ____, I love that phrase. Next week, I'll teach you 'meine freundin' ;b. Before we wrap this up, and I end this with a please review, I wanna say something, and I'm not gonna ramble about something unimportant again. If any of you (Troypay fans) need a great idea for a Troypay fic, read my profile and pm me. That was really it. Oh, and stessa, I've got the greatest idea ever, so check out my profile as well, or I'm afraid I'm gonna ramble again. And now to the famous; please review._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here **__****_


	10. Chapter 10

_From AK-tutti;__ Hola everybody :). Omg, you went insane with all the reviews, but I'm glad about that, I think you should keep the same style for future chapters. So I think you guys need an intro to next chapter, and it's really nothing more than it takes place 2 months after Troy and Sharpay fake coughs, y'know ;b. And you should all know, that the song featured in this chapter, I had to convince Stessa to let it be in it, because she doesn't really like the song much, and I seriously love it, so I don't think I would have cared, if she'd said no? Oh, and Stessa? How about Nadine or Noelle or something along those lines for Steve's babysister? Your call. Anyway, on with this chapter, but first an author's note from my fantabulous co-writer. Take it away, Stessa._

_From Stessa;__ Gosh, thanks for the reviews guys. They're awesome. And yes, AK-tutti; I think that Nadine would be the perfect way for our baby kangaroo. It'd be awesome, I just know it. Anyways, guys, sorry about this incredibly long wait, but here it is; and we're trying to get better at this (: _

_**Disclaimer;**__ You wanna know a secret? We actually came up with the idea for High School Musical, and then Disney stole it from us!!! Ok, we're totally making stuff up.. Sadly, we don't own HSM :(. We don't own So Strong by Natasha Hamilton either, I (AK-tutti) wish I did, though. It's amazing, you should give it a listen._

**Twist Of Love**

**Chapter 10.**

"Let's take it from the chorus one more time." Tanya announced, stopping the recording session for a couple of minutes. It came as a surprise for everybody, since they usually had a warning, before Tanya would stop the music. You could always tell on her facial expression, but this time you couldn't. Or maybe it was because both Gabriella and Sharpay were wrapped up in their own thoughts, both thinking about Troy. "I was thinking, and just tell me if you don't agree, maybe Sharpay should sing the 'I will always love you' part, and when the 'Got to hold on' part of the chorus comes, Gabriella will join in, how does that sound?"

Tanya put the music back on, before either of the girls could react, and Sharpay never got to sing her part. Tanya stopped the music again, clearly frustrated with the girls, she yelled; "Cut, cut, cut. Let's take a 15 minutes break, where you two girls can clear your thoughts, because they seem to be elsewhere right now, but when I come back, I expect your very best."

After saying that, Tanya stormed out of the room. Sharpay and Gabriella blinked a few times, before breaking in laughter, and with tears in their eyes they walked out of the recording room out to Troy, who had been sitting next to Tanya, when she had her little outburst. Now that she was gone, he could barely contain himself.

Sharpay sat herself in the chair, Tanya had just abandoned, and Gabriella seated herself on Troy's lap, and he put his arms around her waist. Sharpay looked away from the 'lovebirds', she had to. Seeing them like that, reminded her, that what she and Troy shared, what they had was wrong, even when it felt so right.

It had been a full 2 months, since Troy and Sharpay had begun their, she couldn't call it relationship, affair. 2 whole months with a lot of events, they had for instance released their '(Don't It Make You) Happy!/Still You Went' single, and that was another no. 1 on their account, they were working on their next single 'So Strong' today, and they were hoping for another no. 1. Troy and Sharpay had grown quite close, and it wasn't just sex their relationship, pardon, affair was about, they hung out and did other stuff in Sharpay's apartment, as that would be the safest place to be, but even though they'd grown close, Troy and Gabriella had grown even closer, and it was killing Sharpay inside, but she couldn't say anything. Troy's mom's funeral had also been one of the events, and Troy had of course been heartbroken. He'd brought Gabriella with him to the funeral, and Mr. B had brought Sharpay, as she'd been there for him, when Lucille's cancer had come back. Troy had been there, when Sharpay had written 'So Strong', but wasn't entitled to have an opinion on the song, to explain why we're gonna need a flashback.

_**Flashback**_

_Little over a month ago, Sharpay was sitting at her piano in her apartment, playing some tunes, and she kept editing some things on a piece of paper. She stopped playing for a few seconds, so she could edit another couple of things on the paper, she didn't even notice Troy slip in. When she was done editing, she went back to playing and sang;_

_"I will always love you_

_There'll never be no-one,_

_Who could love you like I do_

_Although we've changed I know it's true_

_I still love you, yes I do, yes I do."_

_She stopped playing again and looked like, she was thinking of something, she had this thoughtful look on her face, as if she was wondering, what should come next in her song, all the while Troy took silent steps closer to her, but she still didn't notice him, because she was so wrapped up in writing this song. She began singing and playing again;_

_"Got to hold on, be strong_

_Say you'll always be there for me_

_Where did our love go wrong_

_When I've given you everything_

_Why should I cry_

_When it's useless waving goodbye_

_Cos you know I'll be back in your arms again."_

_She stopped again, and now Troy stood right behind her, and he started clapping at the artist, as soon as she'd stopped. Now she couldn't not notice him, he was standing right there, clapping._

_"Hey, Troy." She smiled, as Troy placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "I didn't hear you come in, what are you doing here?"_

_"Well, I know once a week, you and Gabriella have your individual songwriting day, and I know Gabriella well enough to know, that I have to stay away from her apartment on those days, because she 'can't possibly concentrate with me there', and I don't know how you feel about that yet, but I hope you can concentrate with me here." Troy explained, as he sat down next to Sharpay. "That, and I missed you."_

_"Auw, you missed me?" Sharpay smiled, blushing slightly, as she tried to hide her face behind the lyrics of So Strong, so Troy wouldn't notice. Troy did a little funny head nod and a little noise, which caused Sharpay to blush even more and giggle lightly. She decided to cover up, so as she laid the lyrics of her song back, where it belonged, she said; "I thought about writing a funny cartoon-like song about chasing the wonder that is strawberry milk, but I didn't think it would catch people's attention."_

_"The wonder that is strawberry milk?" Troy exclaimed, repeating what Sharpay had just said. "What wonder?"_

_"You haven't tasted strawberry milk?" Sharpay asked, her face looking like Troy had said something in foreign language, that she didn't understand. Troy shook his head, amused by what that little piece of information triggered. "Well, well, well... Troy Bolton, I believe I've found a mistake in your dad's parenting!"_

_Troy raised his brows, as if to say 'that good?', and Sharpay sent him a small smile as if to say 'yes'._

_The lyrics called out to Troy, so he grabbed them from its stand, and he wanted to be polite, so he said; "May I?"_

_Sharpay gave him her permission, and he read the lyrics through. It took awhile, because he wanted to take it all in and get it all, now he had and he loved it, especially the 'I will always love you' part of the song. He didn't understand some of it, but he still loved it, and he wanted to let Sharpay know._

_"That was..." He had barely begun, when Sharpay cut him off, snatching the piece of paper from his hand._

_"No, I don't wanna hear your opinion on the song, so zip it please!" She yelled, covering her ears, like you do when you do the 'lalalalalalala' thing._

_"Why not?" Troy asked, not getting where Sharpay was coming from. It was amazing, why did she not want to know? "I don't get it, a normal person would want to know, if something they'd written was good or not."_

_"First of, I'm not a normal person, I'm a Sweetheart." Sharpay said, placing one pointing finger on the other, as if she was counting how many fingers, she had on one hand, but really it was to underline the first of part. She placed her pointing finger on her middle finger and continued, "Second of, I don't want your opinion, because then the song will be tainted, and then The Sweethearts can't do it, and I really wanna make this song a single, and it can't be, if you utter your opinion and taint it with your not-knowing-ness. Let's face it, you like country, and what Gabriella and I do is pop, so either way your opinion would suck."_

_"Gee, thanks." Troy said, sarcastically and pouted, but he cheered up right after, Sharpay had kissed him and 'made it all better'._

_**End of Flashback**_

Sharpay remembered that day clearly, because it was also the day, she fell head over heels for him. Now all she could do was sit and sulk in regret over the fact, that she hadn't been fast enough to discover her feelings for Troy, so she could have gotten to him before Gabriella. She knew it was awful to feel like that, when her best friend was in the matter, because Gabriella deserved to be happy, maybe even more than Sharpay did.

"So how long did Tanya say it would be, before she comes back from her 10 minutes escape from us?" Gabriella asked, after having decided, that someone had to break the silence, and since she usually was one to do so, why ruin tradition?

"I think she said 10 minutes?" Troy replied, as he watched Sharpay, who'd begun tapping her fingers on 'Tha Mixer', as she and Gabriella called (Troy called it 'The Dippadedoo') it, much to Troy's annoyance. He hated, when people tapped their fingers. "Would you cut that out, Shar?"

Sharpay seemed to think about it for awhile, before she firmly said; "No!"

"Oh, c'mon Sharpay, don't be that way!" Gabriella begged, she hated it, when Troy and Sharpay didn't get along, because they were the two people who mattered the most to her. "You know finger tapping annoys the crap out of Troy, but you do it anyway."

"Yeah." Sharpay admitted, but she turned it around, dragging Gabriella and Troy down with her, "And both you and Troy know, that I can't think straight without the finger tapping thing. So what are you telling me? 'Stop thinking, Sharpay?' That's not very nice telling, you should be ashamed."

"That's right, I know. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions." Gabriella said, placing one hand on her heart to make her point clearer, and she scratched her ear with the other hand, which she often did, when she was sorry or felt she'd done something wrong.

"That's ok." Sharpay smiled and stroked her best friend's hair with one hand. Once Gabriella had smiled back, she let the hand fall down to her side again. "Anyway, it's a two way street, Gabs. I should have taken notice of Troy, I guess it's still weird having him in the studio with us, when we record. However, I'll get used to it."

She winked at Troy, and he got a frightened look on his face, Gabriella turned her head around just in time to see her boyfriend's face, and she burst into laugher, which Sharpay soon followed. Troy had been afraid, that Sharpay was gonna blow their cover and rat them out for having an affair, even despite having known her for so long to know, she'd never do that after they'd made each other a promise.

Troy still had the frightened look on his face, when Sharpay said; "He kind of looks like a guinea pig with abnormally big eyes with that look on his face, don't you think, Gabs?"

"Definitely!" Gabriella agreed, still giggling like mad. She turned her head around again with a sweet smile complimenting her face, and she kissed her boyfriend's cheek to let him know, it was all in good fun. He had a track record of freaking out and running out of the studio with a nervous breakdown, when she and Sharpay had been teasing him, kinda like Tanya did before but for different reasons.

Troy got up from his chair, causing Gabriella to fall on her butt on the floor, as she sat on his lap before. She stood up, rubbing herself where it hurt, her facial expression asking the clear question 'why did you do that?'. Troy got all weird and said; "Sorry. I guess I need to get some fresh air. I'm not really used to being in a studio, like you and Sharpay are."

After having said that, he ran out of the room and Gabriella took place in the chair, he'd just left a minute ago. She glared at the door, Troy had just walked out of, as she spoke, "Do you know, what's the matter with him? He's been acting really strange lately."

"I don't know." Sharpay said, shrugging her shoulders, and she was staring at the door as well. "Maybe it's that time of the months? Yeah, maybe that's it! Perhaps he has the red?"

"Shar, you know that's not possible." Gabriella covered her mouth, trying to suppress a giggle, she didn't manage though. Sharpay soon joined in, but after only a few minutes, Gabriella got serious again, "No, I'm serious. He's acting really strange, do you think he's sleeping with someone behind my back? Am I too stupid to see it? Or is it like, when something is too good to be true, you look for something to be wrong? I mean, Troy is amazing, so maybe I'm looking for flaws? Maybe I'm just imagining all this?"

Sharpay placed her hands on Gabriella's arms and made eye contact, before she said, "Look, Gabs, Troy loves you very much, and he would never do anything to hurt you. And I'm a 100 percent sure, that Troy would never ever sleep around. He's one of the good guys, sweetie. You're lucky to have him, so sit back and enjoy it, and stop thinking like this! Imagine how hurt he'll be, if he finds out, that you doubt him like that? I'm sure he's not having an affair, and he's probably strange, because like I said, he has the red!"

Gabriella, who'd gotten into tears, while Sharpay had said all that, let out a cute little giggle. Seeing her best friend in tears, Sharpay pulled her in for a hug, one of the long deep one's. They sat like that, doing nothing but hugging each for quite awhile, and right before they broke apart, Gabriella whispered in her blonde friend's ear, "Thank you, Sharpay. You're the greatest friend in the world."

"You too." Sharpay smiled, now stroking her best friend's arm. She felt guilty for what she did with Troy, and she felt guilty that she'd just lied to her best friend. It was gonna be hard to hide it from Gabriella, especially when she was feeling like that, she felt like she could snap anytime, but she wouldn't do that to Troy. She felt really uncomfortable, and she wanted to change the subject. "Anyway, on to happier things. I just got the greatest idea!"

"What, what? Tell me! What is it?"

"What do you say, if we, when Tanya comes back and we get back in there to sing So Strong, and she tells us to start at the top, break into the chorus of the soundtrack of 'Gummibears' instead of, y'know to see her reaction. It would be a great laugh."

"That's a great idea, it's gonna be hilarious!" Gabriella said, checking her watch, "The 10 minutes are almost up. I remember the lyrics, do you remember the lyrics?"

"Of course!" Sharpay laughed, but she stopped right away, when Tanya came back into the room. "You cool again?"

Tanya gave them one of those glares, that Sharpay were a champion in, and it looked so ridiculous coming from Tanya, that they had to work really hard to suppress their giggles. She pointed towards the recording studio, and Gabriella and Sharpay knew immediately, that they'd better run into the studio, and they did so, while Tanya sat down in the chair Sharpay had just left.

"Ok, now girls, from the top!" Tanya announced, as Gabriella and Sharpay had gotten into their old positions, when they recorded. Tanya started the music, and they smiled, sending each a knowing glare, and then they broke into, like they'd agreed upon, the chorus of gummibears;

"_Gummibears!_

_Bouncing here and there and everywhere_

_High adventure that's beyond compare_

_They are the gummibears.._"

"Cute girls, very cute, but that's not exactly what I'm looking for." Tanya fought hard not to lose it and storm out again, and both of The Sweethearts knew it, so they smirked at each other, as they watched Tanya having an inner battle going on. After having won it, she continued; "Now, from the top of So Strong this time. And you better nail it, otherwise you're gonna have to go and tell Mr. McKessie the whole story of, how you couldn't get it right. Translation; do it wrong, and there'll be no song! See, I can rhyme too, now take it away."

She reversed the music and started it again from the top, and this time Gabriella and Sharpay only dared to do their best. They thought only of the song, they didn't even let their minds wander off to their many personal issues, they were only on the song and doing their best. Tanya's threat really hit home for once.

(_Gabriella singing. _**Sharpay singing. **_**Both of them singing.**_)

_"_**Oooh**

_Open your eyes, boy_

_See how I'm feeling_

_Before I walk away_

_Your hear what I'm saying_

_Do you know the meaning of love_

_Cos you've let me down again"_

Gabriella and Sharpay linked hands, like they almost always did, when they were recording, and Sharpay closed her eyes and continued with her part;

_"_**I will always love you**

**There'll never be no-one**

**Who can love you like I do**

**Although we've changed I know it's true**

**I still love you, yes I do, **_**yes I do**_

_**Got to hold on, be strong**_

_**Say you'll always be there for me**_

_**Where did our love go wrong**_

_**When I've given you everything?**_

_**Why should I cry**_

_**When it's useless waving goodbye**_

_**Cos you know I'll be back in your arms again**__"_

Gabriella locked eyes with her best friend, she could feel Sharpay had written a big hit, maybe The Sweethearts biggest hit so far. With a smile, Gabriella began the next verse;

_"We've had our good times_

_We felt the bad times_

_I would do it all again_

**Cos I've got a feeling**

**That no-one is gonna believe it**

**If you say you won't let me down again**

**I will always love you**

**There'll never be no-one**

**Who can love you like I do**

**Although we've changed I know it's true**

**I still love you, yes I do, **_**yes I do**_

_**Got to hold on, be strong**_

_**Say you'll always be there for me**_

_**Where did our love go wrong**_

_**When I've given you everything?**_

_**Why should I cry**_

_**When it's useless waving goodbye**_

_**Cos you know I'll be back in your arms again**__"_

There was a long instrumental bridge in the song now, so Gabriella and Sharpay took the chance to twirl around and come up with goofy dance routine, until it was time to sing again, and they got back to serious.

_"_**Baby, back in your arms again, baby**

_(Got to hold on, be strong)_

**Ooooh**

_(Say you'll always be there for me)_

**Hey yeah, hey yeah**

_(Where did our love go wrong)_

**Don't you let me down, baby**

_(When I've given you everything)_

_**Why should I cry**_

_**When it's useless waving goodbye**_

_**Cos you know I'll be back in your arms again**_

**Baby, back in your arms again**

_(Got to hold on, be strong)_

**Ooooh**

_(Say you'll always be there for me)_

**Hey yeah, hey yeah**

_(Where did our love go wrong)_

**Don't you let me down, baby**

_(When I've given you everything)_

_**Why should I cry**_

_**When it's useless waving goodbye**_

_**Cos you know I'll be back in your arms again**_

**Baby, back in your arms again, yeah**_"_

"Absolutely amazing!" Tanya cheered, after she'd turned off the mics and the music, and Gabriella and Sharpay had gotten out of the studio. She hugged them both, as she kept chanting, "Absolutely amazing, absolutely amazing."

"Are we done here? Because I gotta go home and do absolutely nothing!" Sharpay said, sounding kinda tired. With the permission from Tanya to go, she headed for the door, and right before she left, she looked back and said to Gabriella, "Remember, Gabs, we've got a covershoot tomorrow, so don't stay out too late with Troy-boy, ok?"

5 minutes after Sharpay was gone, Gabriella left too, and she found Troy wandering in the halls, and they both took off to her apartment.

--

Humming So Strong, Sharpay was grocery shopping, which was a very rare thing for her to do, but since the whole Troy thing had kicked in, she had been staying more at home than in Gabriella's apartment, so she kinda needed to do it, even though she didn't want to.

Going out in Albuquerque had always been a peaceful event, because both she and Sharpay were known there before they got famous, so people didn't make that big a deal out of it. Well, in the beginning they were a little star struck and everything, but that was only because they weren't used to having that big stars in their hometown, but now it had died down, because even though all that had happened had happened, Sharpay and Gabriella were still Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez from down the street.

Ok, sometimes there came tourists to town, and they made a big deal out of it, but even that didn't happen often, at least not that they knew of, they were almost always travelling. Imagine the disappointment for a huge Sweethearts fan.

"Hello dear." An old lady said, smiling at Sharpay, tearing her out of her own little world of humming and whatnot. "What are you doing here, sweetie? It's not like you to go grocery shopping."

Sharpay looked down in her basket, no it wasn't like her to go grocery shopping, she'd put nothing in her basket so far, she didn't know where anything was. Well, except for her all-in-one crackers she'd put nothing in it, but she was a big consumer of those crackers, and they were very healthy. She ate those crackers in large number, when they were recording their first album, because they almost lived in the studio and didn't get to exercise, and she had lost weight from only eating them. She remembered that clearly, rumours had started flowing about you know what.

"Hi, Mrs. Steele!" She replied, returning the old lady's smile. "No, I'm not really a regular here, but I can't live with Gabriella forever and feed off of her, so I've moved back to my own apartment, and now I have to do my own shopping. I don't have much practise at that, I don't even know where anything is. Could you please help me, Mrs. Steele?"

Sharpay flashed another smile, one of the price winning one's, and tilted her head a little to the side. It was her angelic look, and Mrs. Steele knew that all too well. She had been both Sharpay and Gabriella's nanny at the ages of 4 - 13, so she knew them very well, she was like a second mom to the both of them.

"Of course I'll help you, dear." Mrs. Steele said, as she walked slowly up to Sharpay and linked arms with her, and they began walking together in the story, looking for the things Sharpay could think of she needed. "Now wipe that ridiculous look off your face, playing angel with me doesn't work, Pay, and you know it. Now, what do you need, sweetie?"

"Auw, I got you to help me, didn't I?" Sharpay said, using her cute voice, and rested her head on Mrs. Steele's shoulder for a few seconds, before she stood up straight again and they continued their walk. "What do I need? Let's see... I need strawberry milk, you know how I can't live without it, and I need some fruit, ordinary milk, some cup noodles, because I still can't cook dinner, and those fruity crackers, do you remember those? Y'know the one's I ate a countless amount of, when I was little? And it's that time of the month, so I need y'know. And then I need..." She paused to think a little, "You know what? Why don't we just walk the store, and if I see something else I need, I'll take it and put it in my basket?"

Mrs. Steele agreed, and they began walking the store, when all of the sudden Sharpay's cell phone rang, and the tunes of (Don't It Make You) Happy! could be heard all over the store and probably lots of other places.

"Beauty is here, who's there?" Sharpay greeted whoever was calling.

"Oh, beauty, huh? Ego centric much?"

"Hey Troy…" Sharpay giggled, quickly showing Mrs. Steele two fingers, as if to say she'd be right back, "What's up?"

"Not much." Troy replied, letting out a deep sigh, "I was just thinking if maybe you and I could get together tonight? Because I could stay with Gabriella, but I kinda wanna see you right now."

"Oh…" Sharpay paused, and looked around her, as if to see what Mrs. Steele was up to, but was surprised to see that the old woman was filling necessaries into her own basket as well as Sharpay's, so she turned her back to her again, to continue her talk with Troy, "I don't think that's a very good idea, Troy."

"Why not?" he questioned, and she could almost see his pout before her, as if he had been right there, "I really wanna see you Pay… I can just tell Gabby that I need to go back home, or that I feel ill or something. I need to see you."

"Where are you right now?" Sharpay asked, suddenly feeling very confused about his whereabouts.

"Gabriella is cooking something, and as you know she sings 'Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy', when she cooks, so no need for you to be worried about her overhearing this." He paused, and chuckled slightly, "And she's in the kitchen while I'm locked up in the bathroom."

"But Troy…" Sharpay trailed off, breathing heavily, "I'm not really comfortable with all this. All this… sneaking off and sneaking around. It feels wrong. I – I think we should stop it."

"No!" Troy quickly exclaimed, but then paused and lowered his voice, "No Sharpay, I… I love you, okay? And I love Gabriella as well, because I don't want to hurt her."

"And you don't think this is hurting her?" Sharpay questioned, not noticing how a woman a little older than herself, really seemed to sharpen her ears at this point of her conversation, "She's my best friend, Troy. My buddy, my singing partner. The other half of The Sweethearts. I can't do this to her."

"I know it's hurting her, Sharpay…" Troy trailed off, sounding as hopeless as she felt, "But I really wanna be with you… Please?"

"I'm not comfortable about being the other woman, Troy." Sharpay stated, flipping her hair behind her shoulder, "It's nothing I would normally do. Especially not towards Gabriella. I feel guilty."

"I feel guilty too, but I love you both."

"We gotta end this, Troy." Sharpay confirmed, taking a few steps towards Mrs. Steele, who was now going down another ally, the other woman following her, "I can't do this anymore. You, stay with Gabriella tonight, and then get married and have a dozen of kids. You'll be very happy, I know it, Troy. And I'll just… wait for another guy to come along…" she paused, and let out a sigh. She had a feeling she'd never find another guy if she let go of Troy. He was IT, she loved him. And yeah… her and finding guys had never been easy.

"But Sharpay…" Troy said, trying to stop her.

"End of discussion, Troy!" Sharpay confirmed, biting her lip, because this decision hurt so much, "Go back to Gabriella, I refuse to be a dirty little affair."

She hung up the phone, before he had a chance to comment on that. she stood still for a second, wondering what to do next. She then came back into the real world, and hurried up to Mrs. Steele, who was still finding groceries. However, she didn't notice, that the woman from before was taking out her cell phone, getting ready for tomorrow's hugest news.

--

Gabriella yawned and slowly stretched her arms out, the covers sliding off her body. She kept lying there for a second, her eyes closed, to let the sun stream through her window, warming her body. She knew nothing better than these mornings. Of course it was nicer to wake up when Troy was right next to her, but for some reason he'd left last night, suddenly saying he was ill.

Ah, she didn't know. she was having mixed feelings about him and their relationship. He'd been acting much different… Like he was hiding something, and he always got defensive when she asked him what he'd been up to one of those evenings they weren't together. He got so worked up about it, and kept on accusing her for not believing him. She didn't really know why, but the more he said that and got defensive, the more convinced she was that he was hiding something for her…

She just didn't know. The feeling of him seeing someone else behind her back, was burning in the pit of her stomach. It was annoying her, because whenever they were together, she couldn't enjoy, because she kept thinking that maybe that other girl was on his mind… And then still, she didn't know for sure if he was cheating on her, so she didn't want to come right out and ask him. He might leave her if that was. She just kept hinting it, and he kept denying it. It was a sick cycle.

And then yesterday… when he'd rushed all out of there, saying that he had a migraine. She had been so surprised, standing there in the middle of setting the table, getting ready for a cosy night. And then he just… left. She'd been really hurt, so today she told herself, she'd speak to him about it, and let him know how she felt.

When she finally got out of bed, it was with positive thoughts about the day, and she hurried into the living room. She checked her daily schedule, already tired of all the stuff she had to do. She and Sharpay were like… really busy all the time. They never had a day off to just relax and stuff.

She stopped by the picture of her, Sharpay and Troy, which was placed on her coffee table, and picked it up, looking happily at it. Troy had just brought it yesterday, telling her it was a gift for her to enjoy. She hadn't yet had time to look at it. She studied her own face for a second, and loved how her smile just lit up the whole picture. Then her eyes drew towards Troy, how looked just as happy, standing on the right side of her, while she was in the side, with Sharpay on Troy's left. Sharpay was smiling too.

Gabriella's eyes lingered on Troy's arm, which was draped around her shoulders. It was the first thing you noticed when you look at the picture, but now… he eyes almost popped out of her head, as they stopped at Troy's other hand. It was safely tucked in one of Sharpay's hand, their fingers linked together.

She paused, as she took the picture in, not really getting it at all. When it finally sunk in, she just kept staring at it, not understanding. Well… she knew Troy and Sharpay had grown closer, despite their differences and all their fights, but holding hands… she'd never seen them to that, and she found it weird when she was right there, and she was his girlfriend. Something was not right, something was…

She paused to take in a deep breath, when a sudden though blew into her brain out of nowhere. If Troy was cheating on her, could he be cheating on her with… Sharpay? It was… it was a possibility, of course, but Sharpay would never do that to her, would she? They were best friends. Friends don't sleep with friends' boyfriends. Not even ex-boyfriends. It's an unspoken rule.

It didn't make sense anyway, because she wasn't even sure if Troy was seeing someone else.. Though that nagging feeling kept telling her something was up. So maybe he was seeing someone, but that someone wasn't Sharpay. Sharpay was her best friend. So there. That was enough argument. Gabriella shouldn't even think that way about Sharpay, she knew it'd disappoint her best friend, if she thought that about her.

Gabriella placed the picture back down on the table, and hurried into the kitchen, taking out a glass, and some milk. She was going to make chocolate milk. She just loved that in the morning, it made her whole day better. Of course she was gonna make some coffee too, but while it was being made, she could drink her chocolate milk. She while she hummed to herself, she multi-tasked, getting everything done.

When the coffee was being made, she grabbed her glass and went into the hallway, where all her mail was. There wasn't much. One post card from an old friend, who was on Mallorca, and then there was her weekly subscription on her favourite magazine. She picked it up, and looked at the post card while she went back to the kitchen, the fresh smell of coffee hitting her nostrils.

Apparently her friend was doing good on Mallorca. _That's great, good for her_, Gabriella mused to herself, as she emptied her glass, and found a cup. She waited for her coffee to be done, and when it was, she sat down by the table, to read her magazine, while waking up to her fresh coffee. That was practically how all her mornings went, and if her routine was broken, she'd get really confused, and sometimes grumpy.

She took the first sip of her coffee, turning her magazine around to read the front page. Right when her eyes scanned over the text, she almost choked on her coffee. She spit it all out, the black liquor hitting the table in soft cascades. Her eyes were wide, as she read the text again. She gulped, and her heart beat faster, when a bright picture of herself, Sharpay and Troy was on the front page, beneath the words:

_**The Sweethearts Are Over! **_

She quickly skipped through the magazine, wanting to get to the right page. When she did, her eyes read through the little black box, reading when and exactly why they should be broken up. She should have known, right? She's one part of The Sweethearts.

_The pop-sensation The Sweethearts are over. After Gabriella Montez, one part of The Sweethearts, late last year started dating her manager's son, Troy Bolton, everything seemed quite wonderful for the two-some. Sharpay Evans, second half of the girls group, was ecstatic for her best friend and partner, and couldn't be happier about Troy Bolton._

"_He's the greatest," she said, right after Christmas, "He's so right for Gabriella. They're very happy."_

_But now, that statement is over. Sharpay has actually found a reason to break her best friend's happiness. No one knows how long this has been going on, since we haven't been able to get a statement from one of the three, but it seems like 'Troyella' is over, and we're now going for 'Troypay'. Thousands of fans world-wide will hate Sharpay for stealing Gabriella's guy, since it'll cause the group to break apart. _

_So far, all we know is that Sharpay and Troy have been sneaking around behind Gabriella's back, and if she knows about this, is still unclear, but we surely hope she'll be able to forgive her best friend for having an affair with her boyfriend._

Gabriella just kept looking at the words, breathing hard. Oh Gosh, she couldn't believe this. Troy really was seeing someone else.

Sharpay.

_From Stessa;__ So there you have it guys, I hope it was good enough for the long wait. Once again, I'm so sorry we haven't updated faster. We're really going to get it together and be better at it. From now on we're going to get ourselves a deadline or something, and then we're gonna keep it. It's taking way too long with updates for my taste, but let's see what happens ;p And uhm yeah, AK-tutti wrote most of this chapter, 'cuz I think she was on a roll, but I dunno. I DID write some of it though, so I don't feel like… really guilty. Hmm, and oh yeah, please leave us another review. It means the world to us!_

_From AK-tutti;__ What she said! There's no reason to say the same thing twice, is there? And according to Stessa's count, there are about 9 chapters left, and the fic will be over before the new year, hopefully. We're counting very much on that, but we're really slow at this updating thing, but we're gonna set a deadline for the next chapter. We're not gonna tell it to, you're just gonna have to wait for it, hopefully excited. And yeah, we hope you enjoyed it, please review and all that._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_From AK-tutti:__ Hi! Did you miss us? We know you were looking forward to some drama, and we hope we deliver some of it in this chapter. So here you guys are:_

_From Stessa:__ Hey, we're back with more!_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own HSM. And sadly, we don't own the wonderful song 'Sexy! No No No' by Girls Aloud, that Stessa hates. We don't own 'True Friend' by Hannah Montana either, which Stessa loves. _

**Twist Of Love**

**Chapter 11.**

"_Is it true!?" Gabriella yelled, tears cascading down her cheeks, as she held the magazine up in front of her best friend and boyfriend, who had agreed to meet her in her apartment. _

"_What!?" Sharpay shrieked, as she moved forward and grabbed the paper from Gabriella's hands, so she could take a look on the front page. Her eyes scanned over the lines, and she became more and more self-conscious with each word she read. She could feel Troy stiffening next to her, as he swallowed hard. _

"_Well!?" Gabriella wanted to know. _

_Sharpay briefly looked up at her best friend, and was not surprised to see the complete look of horror written across her face. She looked so sad, and heartbroken, Sharpay almost couldn't stand it. She then glanced down at the magazine's front page, and scoffed. How they found out, she didn't know, and she couldn't care less. She had to find a way to convince Gabriella that it was just rumours. _

_Sharpay looked up at Gabriella again, and mustered to make an angry face, "Gabby!?" she hollered, standing up, "How can you think that about me? Huh? I'm your best friend! I'd never sleep with your boyfriend! They are just rumours!"_

_Gabriella grabbed the magazine again, and let her eyes linger on the front page. She wanted to believe them, but she wasn't convinced, "But Sharpay… it seems so real! And you two… you've been acting different! And I found a picture where you were holding hands!"  
_

"_So we're not aloud to hold hands!?" Sharpay shot back, planting her hands on the side of her hips, "First.. you say we fight too much, so we go out a few times to become better friends, and then when we do, we become really close, and ONE time Troy holds my hand… and here you are accusing us for sneaking around behind your back!?" she paused, to scoff, "Something is wrong with that picture, Gabriella!"_

"_But look at this!" Gabriella said, and smashed the picture from her coffee table, up, into Sharpay's face, "He has an arm, ONLY an arm, around me, his girlfriend… and YOU, you a girl that he didn't even like to begin with, he holds hands with.. Something is wrong, Sharpay, forgive me for being suspicious." _

"_Well…" Sharpay said, letting out a deep sigh. She refused to give up on this. She was going to win this argument. She was going to convince Gabriella that nothing was going on between her and Troy, even though everything was going on. She had to do so. For their friendship's sake, and for the sake of The Sweethearts, "Then I dunno what to do to convince you, Gabriella. I can't tell you anything but the truth." _

_Gabriella, who had noticed that Troy had been awfully quiet in this argument, until now, turned to him, and expectant look on her face. She wanted to know his opinion, and she was going to; "Troy?" she questioned, "What do you have to say about this?"_

_Troy didn't move to say anything, he just stared into the floor, so Sharpay kicked him across the leg, to make him speak, and that did the trick, even though it looked slightly suspicious towards Gabriella, who arched an eyebrow at the action._

"_Gabby…" Troy mumbled, looking up to catch her eye, "I don't know what to say to you. I'm so… So sad that you don't have more faith in me. Sure, I was holding Sharpay's hand, but yeah, tough deal, I like her now. We're friends. And I do that with all my female friends. It's a thing… an action. And just because I hold her hand, doesn't mean that I'm jumping into bed with her, every night I'm not with you."_

_Sharpay held back her laugh, because she didn't want Gabriella to know how true that statement was. Troy always jumped into bed with her when he wasn't with Gabriella. Almost always. In stead of laughing, she reached her hand out and stroked Gabriella's cheek, "I'm sorry you got so upset because of this, Gabriella. I didn't even know about this, until you said so. I would never do such thing to you… I promise." _

_Gabriella locked eyes with her best friend for several years, and let out a deep breath. If she couldn't trust Sharpay, then who could she trust? She shot her a half-sad smile, "Best friends forever, right?" _

"_Best friends forever." Sharpay agreed, before wrapping her arms around the petite Latino, and hugging her tight._

"_I'm sorry, Sharpay," Gabriella mumbled, into her hair, "I really am. I shouldn't doubt you, you must be so disappointed in me because of this. I feel… I feel awful."_

"_It's okay," Sharpay whispered, as she locked eyes with Troy, over Gabriella's shoulder, "It's okay, you're forgiven." _

_Gabriella pulled back and looked deeply into Sharpay's chocolate brown eyes, "Thank you, but I don't deserve it, do I?" _

"_You deserve everything." Sharpay assured her, kissing her cheek lightly, "'Cause you're the perfect best friend. A gorgeous female, and you have a wonderful voice. You're the best." _

"_And you're an awesome girlfriend too," Troy added, as he broke the two girls apart, and wrapped his strong arms around Gabriella as well, "I love you, Gabs. Don't doubt that. And I forgive you too."_

_Gabriella let a few tears slip, and threw the magazine to the ground, when they broke their hug. She angrily stomped on top of it, and cursed beneath her breath. _

_Sharpay giggled slightly, and made her stop, "Calm down, Gabriella."  
_

"_I'm furious!" the brunette said, clutching Sharpay's arm tightly, "How are we gonna get over these rumours? We have to reassure our fans!"  
_

"_We'll get Mr. B to set up an interview of some sort." Sharpay said, nodding her head, reassuringly, "Or maybe even a press conference – anything! Just to make this stop. Is that good enough?"_

"_Yeah," Gabriella nodded, biting her lip, "Yeah. Yeah, we'll do that."  
_

--

Sharpay groaned, and slowly let her body stretch out, to get more relaxed. She felt so tired and worn out. She just wanted to sleep longer, but it was kinda hard… for several reasons. She had a lot on her mind, and she couldn't think clearly. These last couple of months, since the horrific magazine front page, she had been living in a fog.

Luckily, they had convinced Gabriella that nothing had been going on between them, and there was nothing going on between them, because she had ended it with him. However… that decision wasn't easy to live up to, when he kept calling her, and wanting to spend time with her so.

So eventually, she had given into his charming ways again, because _that was how much she loved him_. Their affair had kept on going for these two months, and Sharpay sometimes felt that Gabriella still didn't believe them completely, even though she never mentioned it. But why should she, anyway? They were sneaking around behind her back. Big time.

Sharpay hated herself for it. She felt awful, and sometimes it felt like the guilt was eating her up from the inside. It was all she could think about, and she wrote a lot down in her diary, scribbling every feeling or emotion into the little book, as if it was going to make her feel better. It helped for awhile, until everything came back, and she had managed to fill out her diary in record speed.

She wrote about the feelings she got whenever she spent time with Troy. Those amazing bubbles that started in the pit of her stomach, and erupted to her whole body. Those bubbles made her feel happy, and gave a bounce in her step when she walked. She was more smiley, and more silly than ever before. Her eyes were more shiny, and her hair was more beautiful. She was cheery and joked around – all because she was in love.

But when that feeling went away, which it did more often than always, she felt guilty. Especially when she spent time with Gabriella – which was what she did around… 24/7. It was horrible. The Latino girl spoke about her boyfriend and what they had done the night before. How he had taken her out to prove his love, how they had danced to 'Halo', their song. And Sharpay couldn't do anything but just listen, and come out with the occasional 'oh' when something was über-cute, and just nod along, and pretend to listen. It was hard, and the smile Gabriella had on her face, made it all ten times worse. She wished she could just forget that, and it was those times when she told herself to break it off with Troy the next time she saw him.

But she never could. Because then he cut her off with a sweet kiss, or told her that he loved her too, and that he felt just as confused and guilty as she did, but he hoped they could be together. Without hurting Gabriella. But it was not happening. In another world yes, maybe they could. But in reality, they both knew it would never happen. And Sharpay just wanted to cry because of that, and she also wanted to stop.

But most of all, she wanted to tell Gabriella.

She turned onto her side, and looked at Troy's sleeping face. He looked so adorably cute. His eyes were shut tightly, and he was clutching his pillowcase firmly in his right fist. His shaggy brown hair was a mess, but he looked gorgeous. Why again, did he have to be so irresistible?

She still found herself waking up next to him in her bed, even though she shouldn't. She just couldn't say no. But she wanted to. It was so confusing, and she wore herself out thinking about it.

She laid back down, onto her pillow, and stared into her ceiling. She remembered all the fan-mail they had gotten on their webpage the day that magazine had been published. All those girls around the world, who was frightened it was over, had written them tons of mails. And it had been heartbreaking reading about it. They really believed The Sweethearts were broken up.

So that interview had been really necessary. They had all given a statement to the same magazine who posted the 'shit' about them, to reassure all their fans.

Sharpay grabbed the article from her nightstand, where she had kept it, to remind herself to be more careful around Troy, and definitely when they went out places. To make sure not to get too close to him. She let her eyes scan over the words, reading them for the umpteenth time.

_The Sweethearts made a statement, to decline the rumours about their break-up. They were all deeply horrified of the rumour, and wanted nothing but to reassure their fans, that they were still a group, and were recording another single._

"_I don't know who made up there rumours," Gabriella Montez said, as she held onto Troy Bolton's hand, "Troy and I are a couple, I trust him. And I trust Sharpay. I don't know why people would want to hurt me like this. Hurt us." _

_Sharpay Evans, the other part of The Sweethearts agreed with her partner, and best friend, "I would never do such thing to Gabriella. Troy and I are just friends. We're close friends, and he sometimes hold my hand, but there's really nothing to it. We're definitely not breaking apart. We're releasing another single soon." _

_And Troy, their manager's son, was deeply shaken up by all this, "I'm not used to being in the limelight, and being recognized, but suddenly I am, and it's so confusing. But I'm in love with Gabriella, and Sharpay is my friend. I hope people will realize that, and leave our private lives alone." _

_This magazine is deeply sorry about these rumours, and wish The Sweethearts good luck from now on. We can't wait for their next release! _

Sharpay placed the article back down at the table, and breathed out a sigh. She didn't know how they managed to convinced Gabriella, but she was forever grateful for that. If she had found out, both of their careers might have been ruined. She would have been responsible for that, and it would have killed her.

Now, it was just the guilt which was killing her. Gosh, she wished she could do something about that! Turning onto her stomach, Sharpay took her pillow, and screamed into it.

--

You could say many things about Gabriella Montez, one of them being naive, and that was indeed true most of the times. She always chose to believe the best in people, and what they told, that was a quality that would often backfire, but that was still the person Gabriella was. Whenever someone called her naive, she would always stand up and defend herself, even though she knew deep down, that it was so very true, she just didn't wanna face it.

She was being naive about this whole Troy and Sharpay thing, but she didn't know it yet. She chose to believe her best friend's words, because she knew Sharpay would never lie to her. If only she knew, that it was in fact what Sharpay had done! Lied. When it came to her best friend, Gabriella's mind didn't go that far, and that was beyond change. Sharpay was her best friend, and she trusted her.

It's all good. Gabriella was working out at the gym, it was all part of the job. At least one hour a day, she and Sharpay would workout, it wouldn't always be together, but most of the times anyways. Today she was alone at the gym, surprisingly no-one ever went, other than Gabby and Sharpay of course. Or maybe they were there, when she and her blonde friend weren't? That seemed more likely than no-one and ever.

Gabriella was 'biking' and had decided to drop the thoughts of Troy and Sharpay possibly fooling around behind her back. Sharpay would never do that, she had decided, but she still thought her best friend was hiding something, and she hoped Sharpay would soon trust her with. They had always trusted each other, so Gabriella couldn't see a reason, why Sharpay couldn't tell her whatever secret she had.

Her mind began wondering off to something different than that. Tabloids! All those rumours they would spread about The Sweethearts, it was disgusting! Those rumours were the course of So Strong not doing so well in the charts in the beginning, people were still convinced about the rumours back then, so they weren't too eager to buy the single. So Strong went in at no. 15 and began climbing down instead of up, so it was about being seen in a lot of places together, hugging, laughing and having a blast for Gabriella and Sharpay - no Troy, that wouldn't help at all. So that was what they did, and what they were gonna continue to do, until there was a change in the charts.

So Strong was all the way down at no. 34, and Gabby and Sharpay were still doing their bit, but then one day something amazing happened! The single hopped all the way up to the position of no. 3, and today it was glorying at no. 1. They got the news yesterday, and they were excited. They could lay off the act, not they had minded, but being forced to have fun for many, many weeks wasn't their idea for having a good time.

Today would be all about meetings and such. Gabriella and Sharpay were having a meeting with their manager and producers to decide, what their next single was gonna be. Well, first they were gonna have a meeting with Mr. McK about it, Mr. B was still too depressed to work, and when they settled on an agreement, they would walk the idea with the producers, and then there would go some weeks by, and they would get right to work with it. They were also having a meeting with some camera crew or something about a The Sweethearts documentary in styling of filming them for an entire year and then make it to a film. Gabriella hadn't made her mind up about that yet. After all that, she and Sharpay had decided to get together and write some songs for their sophomore album, they had promised October, and they had already recorded some bits, and then of course their new singles of this year were gonna be on it, but they were already, the one's released at least.

Honestly, Gabriella hated meetings, and she knew Sharpay did too. It was too quiet and too serious for them, they were goofballs almost through and through, mostly Sharpay who didn't seem to have a serious bone in her body, but Gabriella loved her like that, there was no way of denying it. Sharpay was a nutter with no doubt, that you could confide in, and who would be there for you, when you needed her to be, so in Gabriella's opinion her best friend had it all.

_Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong_

_Could this be something good?_

_Maybe I'm weak, maybe I'm strong_

_Or am I misunderstood?_

_Maybe it's time to open my heart_

_So my head's not upside down_

_If you could give me that something_

_You've turned my life around_

Speaking of, that was Gabriella's cell phone ringing and Sharpay's name flashing across it. It was always like that, when you spoke of the sun, it would shine a minute after. She pressed the green button and answered the phone.

"Sharpay Denice Evans! We need to have a very serious talk!" She exclaimed dramatically, when she answered the phone, kinda like Sharpay did sometimes.

"What did I do now?" She could hear Sharpay say on the other line, and she knew her best friend was just playing along. "Whatever it is, I have an alibi!"

Gabriella had to hold in the laughter, that was typical Sharpay. "You changed the ringing tone on my cell phone!"

"I don't have an alibi!" Sharpay admitted on the other end. She did this all the time, changed the tone on her best friend's cell, and Gabriella would always know it was her. "But I have an excuse! A year ago Maybe I'm Right was no. 1 in the charts, and I thought it should be celebrated as you've experienced. I've changed mine to the song too, so loosen the helmet, it's too tight."

"Ok, I totally get your point now!" Gabriella giggled, Sharpay's rambling would always get her in a better mood. "So, why did you call? What do you want?"

"Our song-writing session, when is that?" Sharpay asked, again typical her to forget those things, Gabriella had always been the organized one of the two of them, and Sharpay didn't mind at all having her as her calendar. "I have a feeling it's 3:30, but I'm not entirely sure, that's why I'm calling. I'm almost definite, though, that it's something 30, I just don't know what the something is, and I know my trustworthy calendar must know the correct answer to that riddle, so I'm awaiting your respond anxiously. Anyway, what's the something?"

Gabriella sighed, did she have to go through this almost everyday? "You know very well, that the something is 3, you're just calling to bug me!" She answered her friend's question, and tried her hardest not to sound annoyed.

"Gabriella Raúl Montez, my time to do the middle name thing, I'm appalled that you'd think something like that of me!" Gabriella could hear her best friend fake-sobbing on the other end, and she was used to it, and it wasn't like she minded, that was just who Sharpay was. "So it is 3:30, and you're absolutely sure, that the something is 3?"

"I'm absolutely sure, Shar. Was that all?" Gabriella asked, with a hint of begging in her voice, it was hard to bike and talk on the phone at the same time. At least for her it was.

"I think so..." Sharpay trailed off, but quickly stumbled upon something else to say. "Gabs, I really wanna apologize, if I have, like, not been like myself these past months, but I think I'm getting back to the old me, so I hope I wasn't too much of a bother then."

"You've never been a bother." Gabriella said, softly. "What makes you think that? And honestly, you seem like yourself, and you have for a long time."

"Oh, no reason. Thanks. Bye, sweetie."

And before Gabriella could reply, Sharpay had hung up the phone. Like she'd just said, Sharpay seemed like herself, but was she? Gabriella could still feel her blonde best friend had a secret!

With that thought in mind, she finished her work-out and went home to get ready for all the day's many meetings.

--

"Ok, Gabby and Shar, you know why we're here." Mr. McK said, as soon as they'd all seated themselves at the table in his office-ish room at his house. He had some sheets of paper lying in front of him, which he passed to his daughter, Taylor (you remember her, right ;b), who'd gotten the important to note everything said at the meeting down on paper. He had personally asked her himself, because he knew she'd do anything for her daddy. Mr. McK had to admit to himself, that he was anxious to know Gabriella and Sharpay's single suggestions. "So, what do you have for me?"

Sharpay locked eyes with her best friend, feeling a little hint of ashamed. She cleared her throat and spoke; "We don't really have anything. I'm sorry, Mr. McK."

"I apologize, too, Mr. McK." Gabriella agreed, looking down at her folded hands on the table. "Normally we would have worked on something, as soon as our last single had had its release, but it didn't do so well, and you know what we had to do then, so there wasn't much time to work on something."

"So for the first time ever, The Sweethearts has got nothing?" Taylor asked out of nowhere, right after she'd written the last thing, that had been said, down. She was more eager to know, what The Sweethearts' next release was gonna be, than she was to help her daddy.

"You know what they say, Tay. Never say nothing..." Sharpay slowly began, but was cut off by Gabriella.

"That's not what they say, Shar. It's never say never!"

"Isn't that a Bond-film?" Sharpay wondered out loud, earning herself an eye role from her best friend. "Well, isn't it?"

"We're not here to discuss the adventures of James Bond!" Mr. McK interrupted, just as Gabriella was about to open her mouth to reply to Sharpay's question. "Now, Sharpay, what do you have in mind? You said never say nothing."

"Well, we were offered a song about a year ago, but back then we didn't think it would be one of the best songs to start out with, so we declined the offer." Sharpay started the explanation, and let her best friend take over.

"But now, that we've been in the industry for almost a year and half, we feel confident with doing a song with such lyrics, at least more than we were back then, when we were only 16." Gabriella finished the explanation, but before she would hand the announcement of the title of the song over to her best friend, she had something to add to the explanation. "But if we decide to go with this song, let me just say, that neither of us want to get too exposed, if you know what I mean, in the music video. We want to keep the same style, as we've always kept, okay?"

Mr. McK agreed to the terms and looked expectantly at the both of them, because he didn't know who of them was gonna say something next. That was the thing with The Sweethearts, they would always take over each other's sentences in a meeting, leaving everybody else confused.

"Anyway, the name of the song is 'Sexy! No No No..'" Sharpay cheerfully announced, both her and Gabriella opening their arms in a way, that clearly said; 'isn't this just the best idea, you've ever heard?' And they both looked like, they'd recently been on the funniest ride in Disney World.

"Uhm, can I see the lyrics to that song?" Mr. McK asked, just by the name of the song he felt obligated to say no, but he had to see the lyrics first, they might turn out to be different, that he'd imagined.

"We thought you'd never ask!" Gabriella said, she picked up the lyrics from her bag and handed them to their manager.

Mr. McK read the lyrics thoroughly and then said; "You can't sing this song, girls. You have many little girls looking up to you, and this would ruin your reputation."

"I don't really see, how this one song can do that." Sharpay said, getting ready to fight for the song. "Ok, so maybe we have these little girls as our fans, but guess what? We have a very wide fan-base. And on those channels kids are most likely to watch or listen to, they'll just beep the bad words. And honestly, there aren't that many bad words. Yeah, there are a few hell's, but that's nothing they haven't heard before. We have a few 'lover, come and get me' and a few 'dirty', but that's that."

Gabriella shook her head, and decided to take over. "I think, what Sharpay's trying to say is, would it be so bad, if we did this kinda of song just this one time?"

Mr. McK didn't answer straight away, he looked from Gabriella to Sharpay and then back at Gabriella, he glanced at his daughter and then down at the lyrics he still had in his hand. He could just as well read them again, analyze a bit, were they really that bad?

Taylor was sitting at the edge of her seat with excitement. There was nothing to type right now, so she was taking a break. What was her dad gonna decide with this song, she couldn't wait to know. It sounded like it would be a typical teenage-song, but weren't teenagers also the one's who bought the most music? Yes, that they were. But then again, who were to say others wouldn't like it, as Sharpay had said, The Sweethearts had a very wide fan-base.

"I guess, it wouldn't be so bad this one time." Mr. McK finally said, and Gabriella and Sharpay cheered on him, as Taylor typed what her father had just said down. "I'll take it to the producers later today, now off you go. You have another meeting in a few, am I not correct?"

Both Gabriella and Sharpay nodded and got up from their seats, and they hugged Mr. McK and Taylor goodbye, before they left to go have another meeting.

--

"We get what you're saying, we really do, but the answer is no!" Gabriella said, she didn't wanna budge, and neither did Sharpay. They didn't want some camera-crew following them around for a whole year. Where was the privacy in that?

"We knew you'd feel like this, most people do." One of the camera-dudes said, trying to sound as understanding as possible, while at the same time he wanted to make this documentary. "But we won't be invading your privacy, I swear to you we won't, it's just so your fans can get a sense of who you really are."

"The fans do have a sense of who we really are. I mean look at us. Or look at Sharpay." Gabriella added, when she saw her best friend making funny faces to the camera, another one of the camera-dudes used to film the meeting with, so they had something to add to the documentary, if The Sweethearts decided to go for it. "And while we're at it, why is that camera on?"

"A 'how did it all start' for the documentary, if you decide to go for it." The first camera-dude explained, already sensing that Gabriella wasn't gonna agree to this, but he was just as stubborn as she was, and then there was Sharpay. There was still a chance at convincing Sharpay to do this. "I can't see, why the camera thing is so bad, I mean Sharpay's head is covering the whole thing, so what's the big deal?"

Sharpay, still making faces to the camera, took no notice of what was being said. She had come into the room with Gabriella, the camera-crew had talked their case, both she and Gabriella had said no, and now Gabriella was fighting their case, while she was busy goofing off with the camera.

Gabriella closed her eyes, opened them again and sighed. "Fine, the camera can continue to be on, but we're still not doing a documentary. 'A Year With The Sweethearts' or what the hell you called it, we refuse."

"There's no way of getting you to do this, is there?" A third camera-dude asked, a dude who had been very quiet until now. A very cute camera-dude, Gabriella couldn't help but notice.

She noted to herself to be nice to this guy, she didn't know why, but she liked him as soon as he had spoken. Yes, she was with Troy, whom she was in love with, but wasn't it ok to have small crushes? Wasn't it ok to look but not touch? She believed it was.

"What's your name?" She avoided his question with a question, on purpose. She was gonna answer his question, but she needed to know his name first.

"It's uhm... it's Cole." The third camera-dude, now known as Cole, said, a little taken aback by Gabriella's interest in knowing his name.

"Ok, Cole. There is no way of getting us to this." She said, and turned her head to her best friend, because Sharpay had begun making noises to the camera as well now. "Although Sharpay's action might speak differently, we don't want to do this. Now can we go?"

Not waiting for an answer, Gabriella grabbed Sharpay by the hand and dragged her out of there.

Once outside, Sharpay had made a decision. She looked at her watch, it showed 2:30, which gave her an hour until she had to meet with Gabriella again, and she had something she really had to do.

She hugged her best friend, saying goodbye, and after that she was off to do the thing she had to do, the thing she should have done a long time ago.

She had realized that under the meeting, they had a few minutes ago. To everybody in the room, she may not have seemed like she listened, but she did and because of that, she'd made the decision spoken of earlier.

She had realized, that Gabriella didn't want to do the documentary, because she wanted to keep a little piece of their privacy secret from the public, she wanted to keep as much a secret as she could, but it was very difficult because of the press. That would be the best reason not to want to do this, Sharpay had to admit, but that wasn't the reason she didn't wanna do it. She didn't wanna get caught, she didn't want the world to know, what a lying, cheating, backstabbing bitch or to say it better; slut, she was towards the girl, she claimed was her best friend.

So she had made her decision, she was gonna end it with Troy, and this time it was gonna be for good, no matter how many times he said the words, that made her weak. This was her decision, and she wasn't gonna change it, because Gabriella was her best friend, and she had been for nearly 15 years now. Sharpay loved Gabriella more than anything, and she didn't want to lie, cheat or stab her in the back anymore. Gabriella might not know about these things, but that didn't mean it wasn't real.

Troy and Sharpay had agreed, that they weren't gonna hurt Gabriella's feelings, but Sharpay had realized, that was exactly what they did. Gabriella might not know, what they were doing behind her back, but they were still hurting her, and Sharpay didn't wanna do that anymore, so she was gonna end it with Troy, so she could stop lying to Gabriella and go back to the was things were.

That.was.her.decision!

--

Troy was waiting for her in her own apartment, he couldn't wait to be with her. He missed her, he hadn't seen her for hours and he needed her.

But when Sharpay stormed through the front door, he realized that that wasn't going to happen. He had been happy, until he saw that look in her eyes, and now he knew something was wrong.

"Troy, we need to talk!" There were those four words, that he didn't wanna hear. There were those four words coming out that beautiful mouth of hers, he couldn't bear it.

He could feel the tears forming in his eyes, as she led him to her couch, not to be with him, but to do something he'd hoped would never happen.

They sat down in her couch together, and he could feel himself dreading the next thing, she was gonna say to him. It wasn't good, that was all he knew.

"We have to stop seeing each other, Troy." That was another sentence, that he did not wish to hear, but still he heard it coming right from her beautiful mouth again. How could something so beautiful hurt him so bad with those simple words?

"Why?" Was all he could get out, he didn't know how to fight for her this time, because he could feel, that this time she meant business with what she was doing. Breaking it off with him.

"Why? Troy, are you even listening to yourself right now?" He knew the answer to this one. No, he wasn't listening to himself at that moment, he was still trying to digest her words, and he was still fighting his hardest not to cry. All he could do right now was to close his eyes and shake his head as in 'no', and that was what he did, while he awaited the next thing she had to say. "This isn't right. We can't keep doing this to Gabby, she's my best friend!"

It was the same old song, she'd used it on him numerous times before, when she was certain she wanted to break things off, but back then all he had to do was kiss her, and she would forget all about it. This time was different, this time he could feel her determination to end it with him, so he just sat there and took it, because there was nothing he could do!

Sharpay said a lot of things to him in the next half hour, and he didn't hear half of it, he was busy trying not to cry. He didn't wanna cry in front of her. He had done that once before, but that was when his mother had died, and they had begun this whole affair, it was understandable to cry back then, but he wasn't gonna cry now. He didn't want her feeling sorry for him, because she did what she had to do. He was gonna make things as easy for her, as he could by not crying.

".. but I think we should stay friends, Troy, I really do. Mostly for Gabriella's sake." Troy nodded to what she said, or at least he thought he did, he wasn't sure. He was in some kind of trance of sadness, where he couldn't speak, and where he wasn't really aware of the things going on around him.

He saw her get up and go over to the door. Was she gonna make him leave? She opened the door, so his best guess was gonna be yes.

"I would like for you to leave now." He heard her say, and as pure reflex he got up from her couch and slowly made his way towards the door. He stopped in front of Sharpay and locked eyes with her, hoping that the look in his eyes would tell her all the things, he had wanted to say to her in the past half hour. It seemed like they did, because she nodded as if she'd understood, what he really wanted to say to her.

Troy took her nod as his cue to leave, and he would never be with her again. None of them knew, they wouldn't see each other again for a very long time.

When she had finally closed the door behind him, he let the tears fall freely, not knowing that on the other side of the door, that was exactly what she did as well.

--

"Gabriella Raúl Montez, I'm ready for our song writing session!" Sharpay announced, when she entered the room at Bolton Records, where Gabriella and herself wrote their songs, when they wrote together. When they wrote alone, they wrote in private.

Gabriella was already there, sitting by the table in the room, waiting for her best friend. She sent Sharpay a look, that clearly said, she wasn't impressed with her appearance. "Do you have any idea, what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's 4:07." Sharpay stated, as she sat down next to Gabriella at the table, acting like nothing. "I know you said 3:30, but if you think about it; I'm not late, I'm just really, really early. So technically you can't be mad."

Gabriella decided to ignore Sharpay's last sentence, well she ignored her best friend all together. This was classic Sharpay, so she wasn't really that surprised about it.

They turned on the stereo and plugged in a CD, they had mixed together a few months earlier. They always liked to listen to music, whenever they were writing songs, it was what kept them going all the while. Whenever they had writer's block, they would stop and listen to music for awhile, and that would somehow get them back in the game, so they had decided a long time ago, that when they were writing songs, it always had to be with music.

True Friend came through the speakers, and Gabriella began thinking about, how much this song reminded her of Sharpay's and her friendship. It was almost dead on! And Gabriella had to admit, she knew the song by heart.

"This song so reminds me of us two." She said, letting the former subject drop, no need discussing it, as it would just end in stupid unserious argument between the two of them.

"How so?" Sharpay asked, she was curious, but she also felt very guilty, because of the name of the song. 'True Friend', if that was the impression Gabriella had of, then... well, she was lucky, she didn't know just how mistaken she was. Sharpay wasn't a true friend, the last four months, that Gabriella knew nothing about, had proven that.

"Y'know..." Gabriella trailed off, giving her blonde friend a saying look and waved her hand at the stereo, as if she would get it then. "You don't know? Parts of the lyrics, like 'somehow you're never out of second chances', I think back to nearly 5 months ago, when I messed up and we had that fight, but you forgave me, because you are a _true friend_."

"Yeah, sure." Sharpay didn't know what else to say, Gabriella was making her feel so bad without knowing it. She was tempted to blow the whole secret, be the true friend Gabriella thought she was, but wouldn't that hurt sweet Gabs? So much for true friend.

"Everything, really. The whole song fits." Gabriella went on, and Sharpay kept feeling more and more bad and became more tempted to blurt the secret out. "Especially, you know the secrets I could never tell. It's so dead on, and I feel like it's mutual. I love you so much, Shar."

"I love you, too, Gabs." Sharpay said, she leaned in and gave her best friend a deep hug. "More than you'll ever know, I swear."

The hug lasted for the rest of tunes of True Friend, while Sharpay listened carefully to the lyrics. She felt so fake with Gabriella, and the only way to get rid of that feeling was to tell her everything, but she couldn't. She would most definitely lose Gabby, if she confessed, but then again they could work through most things, so maybe they could work through this also. Yeah, maybe she should confess? Tell the truth? No, no, no, no, no! She couldn't, she just couldn't do it. She and Troy had promised each other, they wouldn't tell, and even though she had ended it with Troy forever and wasn't the biggest fan of him for starting it in the first place (she knew, she was just as guilty as him), she was gonna honour her promise.

"_You're a true friend!_" Gabriella sang softly into Sharpay's ear, and they broke apart, Gabriella with a smile on her face.

_Screw it, _Sharpay thought,_ I have to tell her!_

"Gabriella, we need to talk!"

_From Stessa;__ So yeah! What do you say? Did you like it? Was it worth the loooong wait? Was it? I hope it was! Things are hopefully gonna get good now! I hope you really liked this! And uhm yeah… Remember the promise we wrote by the end of last chapter? About this fic being finished before the new year? Yes, well. I think that maybe we won't be able to live up to that. Hmm, as things are going really slow. But we'll try, I promise you that! Pleaaaase remember to leave us a review?! _

_From AK-tutti;__ I'm taking full responsibility for the slowness of the arrival of this chapter. I was suppose to write on, but then I had a friend over for like a week, and I thought it would be rude to sit by the computer and just write. But after she left, I hurried up and finished my bit. I hope it was enjoyable. Thanks for still reading, and please, please, please leave a review? Uh, uh! Advertising: The next chapter of I'd Rather Be Special should be up by the end of this week, hopefully. Okay, on with it. Please, you guys, be nice and review. We'll love you forever! I have this cookie, that was actually meant for stessa, but now I think the person who writes the best review should have it, so get reviewing, you guys!_

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_From AK-tutti:__ Hello fellas. Thank you for all the lovely reviews, they mean the world to us. My favorite review was the one we got from Charmed something, I don't really remember the name, I just remember, that I loved the review. Stess, help me out, she's a friend of yours? Oh, and I'd like to take this chance to __advertise__ I'd Rather Be Special, a solo fic I'm writing, chapter 3 has just been posted, and it would be much appreciated, if you reviewed? Y'know to keep me going. One more oh on my account, I'm gonna make a promise to Stessa in front of you guys, you are our witnesses, I promise to have posted the first chapter of Breaking The Circle, before the new year begins. There you have it. Again, thanks for the reviews, and I'm gonna let my beautiful co-writer take over now. Stessa, they're all yours.._

_From Stessa:__ Ha, you really think you can manage to get it posted before New Years? I'd love you forever if you could xD And yees, sweet little XxCharmedxX is a friend of mine! But I just call her Bethany :p And she's the coolest. You guys should read our joint fic as well. It's called Brain Drain. It's just getting started, but it's gonna be sooo cool!_

_**Disclaimer;**__ How did you guys figure out, that we do not own High School Musical? And we don't own 'V' or any of the songs on it, and neither do we own 'Headstrong'._

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 12.**

"Honey, are you ok?" Gabriella's current boyfriend, Cole (remember third camera dude?) asked, when he entered her backstage room and saw her staring blankly into a wall. It was pretty worrying, but he also knew the reason. Gabriella had mentioned to him, that she might be acting a little weird on this tour, it was after all her first tour as a solo artist.

It had been a year since she and Sharpay split up, both as friends and as a group, though Gabriella remembered it, like it all happened yesterday. All the things Sharpay had said, and Gabriella had gotten where she was today, partly because she wanted to prove Sharpay wrong, but mostly for her own reason.

Thinking back made her so mad, but she couldn't help it. Like said, she remembered it like yesterday.

_**Flashback**_

_"Gabriella, we need to talk!"_

_Gabriella looked up from her sheets of papers, she'd just been writing some notes down on, that could be used to write a song._

_"Yeah, what about?" She questioned, urging for Sharpay to go on._

_"I need to tell you something, it's quite hard for me, actually.." The blonde said, looking down on her folded hands on the table. "I did something, something terrible, and I feel so bad. Not as bad, as you'll probably feel in a minute, but still bad."_

_"Sharpay, didn't we talk about worrying me for no reason?" Gabriella kidded, because she thought, Sharpay was only playing around. If only she knew, what was to come.._

_Sharpay swallowed hard, mentally yelling at herself to stop, that it would only hurt her best friend, but she told herself, that not telling her would hurt her even more._

_"Gabriella Raúl, I'm being serious." She paused, and Gabriella took note, that her best friend used her real name, her claimed 'middle name', which meant it was dead serious. "I... I should just come write out and say this, it shouldn't be this hard. I.. I.. Troy, he cheated on you... with me."_

_"Get out, he did not... You didn't, I mean you..."_

_"Gabriella, sense the tone!" Sharpay cut her off, looking deeply into her best friend's eyes, hoping she could see, how sorry she was about all this. "I'm sorry, but he did.. I did."_

_"Oh, my God. Tell me you just kissed." Gabriella prayed outwardly, and Sharpay looking down once again was her answer. "Just tell me you didn't sleep together."_

_"I can't..."_

_"You fucking slut!" Gabriella uttered, without even thinking about it. She had never called Sharpay that ever, she'd never called anybody that, but that piece of information made her boil over._

_Sharpay stood up right away, getting ready to defend herself, and Gabriella followed her example. Oh, if eyes could kill._

_"I'm trying to be honest with you here, and you just... you just..." Sharpay began to yell, but lost all words. This was beyond, what she had imagined would happen. Sure, Gabriella was gonna be furious, but Sharpay believed they could work through it, though it didn't seem like it right now._

_"Let's pretend right here and now, that I'm not furious with you, and you tell me all the details in a calm tone?" Gabriella suggested in a very harsh tone, and she'd begun pacing, like she so often did, when she was this angry and/or frustrated. "How long has this been going on with the two of you?"_

_Sharpay looked down at her feet, ashamed, wishing it would all just go away, and that Gabriella would stop pacing, because that meant it was bad. "4 months, give or take." She said, barely audible. She hoped, she'd wake up any minute, and it would all be a dream._

_"4 months?" Gabriella screamed, as she took a few steps closer to, what she could now call ex-best friend, and Sharpay held up her arms for protection, with the sense that Gabriella was on the edge of being able to hurt her._

_"Give or take!" Sharpay screamed back, defending herself. But who was she kidding, she had no defence, she was gonna try everything, though. "And like you're any better yourself. You kissed Mitch Baker, and you knew I liked him!"_

_Gabriella snorted, this was classic Sharpay, trying to turn it around, but it wouldn't work this time. "We were 13 years old, and it was spin the bottle, I had to, now get over it already."_

_"Fine, but you know what? If you'd been there for Troy, this would have never happened." Sharpay yelled, and took a few steps back again, as Gabriella stepped threatening closer to her. "Well, it's the truth. You weren't there, when his mother died, hell you didn't even know she was sick again, but when she died, Troy needed comforting, and you weren't there but I was."_

_"And what? You couldn't comfort him like a normal friend? Y'know, give him a hug!?" Gabriella spat furiously, how could Sharpay try to defend her actions? "Or was that beyond your intelligence?"_

_"He said he needed me!" Sharpay screamed at the top of her lungs, on the verge of tears. "And beyond my intelligence? At least I can write a good song, you're too incompetent to do so."_

_That was it, the first slap was given, and that gave them both enough blood on their teeth to keep going and fight harder._

_Sharpay spoke the next words, or rather yelled in harshly manners; "And you wanna know the details? Every night he wasn't with you, he was with me! We slept together practically every night, most of the times I didn't want to, but he said he needed me, and those were the magic words. He also said, he loved me, and that he didn't wanna hurt you. I loved him, and he loved me, heck I still love him, but I broke it off, because I felt guilty and I didn't wanna hurt you like that. Oh, and one more thing! You know our current no. 1 hit? Yeah, I was with him, when I wrote it."_

_"Oh, my God.." Was all that Gabriella could say to that. To think that Sharpay would let her record that song with her, without knowing its true background, was something she didn't think Sharpay was capable of. That song would never mean the same to her ever again, now it would just remind her of Sharpay's betrayal.._

_"Yeah, oh my God.. And while we're at details, you know the whole diary drama and the bruise I had? The bruise was from the sex Troy and I had the night before, and the diary story was to cover for it."_

_Gabriella couldn't take it anymore, she let the tears fall freely now. She had nothing left for Sharpay, nothing. "I think we should go our separate ways, personally and professionally."_

_"Good idea" Sharpay agreed, still fighting not to cry, and the struggle was harder now, seeing Gabriella cry. It was breaking her heart. "I'll try getting a solo career, and when I'm up with all the stars with a whole belt full of no. 1's, I'll think of you, and I'll hope you're still making enough money off our Sweethearts success to live for."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked, crossing her arms, offended._

_"I'm just saying things, as they are." Sharpay explained in tone, as if it was the obvious. "You're so afraid of failing, that you'd rather not try. You wouldn't stand a chance against me, anyway."_

_With those last words spoken, Sharpay grabbed her things and hurried out of there, leaving Gabriella alone with her thoughts.  
_

_Oh, she was gonna prove her wrong._

_**End of flashback**_

Gabriella swallowed hard, as she fought tears, yet again. She hated when she got to think about it. It made her boil over, and wish to kill Sharpay, but it also hurt her. She hated to think about where they could have been, hadn't it been for Troy. She believed they would have still been touring the world, and have released 3 CD's by now. They were so popular, and she couldn't stand to think about what could have been.

"Hey, hey…" Cole whispered, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, "No crying tonight, honey. It's your night, alright? It's your time to shine. I know it still hurts, but you've moved on, remember? It's your first tour, and 'G' is doing great. You're gonna be just fine. All your fans – new as old – will love you."

Gabriella turned around and shot him an appreciate smile, "Thank you, Cole…" she whispered, placing a light kiss on his lips, "You're the best. I love you."

He rubbed her cheek lightly, and chuckled, "I love you too, Gabs.." he paused, and took a seat in one of the comfy chairs, "So? Do you know who else is gonna be a this festival?"

"I have no idea." Gabriella muttered, as she turned to her mirror, getting ready to fix her make-up, "I heard rumours that Jesse McCartney was gonna be here, along with Carrie Underwood. But it's just rumours, 'cuz no one wanted to tell me anything! I just agreed on this, to get 'G' going better."

"It's doing fine!" Cole said, confused.

"Yeah," Gabriella muttered, turning around to stare him down, "But not as good as 'Headstrong'!"

"Forget about it…" Cole muttered, biting his lip, "Just forget about it, Gabriella! You've moved on, alright? You're here tonight to have a good time, and rock! You're going to sing some of the songs that mean so much to you. It's time to share them with the world."

"I've already shared them," Gabriella giggled, turning around to fix some eye shadow, "'G' has been out for about a month!"

"But you haven't done any live shows since the Sweethearts broke up."

"I so have!" Gabriella said, staring at him through the mirror, "A month after we broke up, I sang '(Don't It Make You) Happy!' live on Regis and Kelly."

"Yeah, but that sucked without Sharpay, so everybody decided to forget about it…" Cole teased, poking her on the butt, with his foot. He just managed to reach her from where he was sitting.

"Like she didn't screw up!" Gabriella mumbled, finally done with her make-up, "When she tried to release 'Sexy! No No No' alone, it hit rock bottom. She totally screwed up!"

"And that makes you very happy." Cole said, nodding his head a bit.

"Yeah," Gabriella trailed off, as she got to think about what Sharpay had done to her, and her relationship with Troy, "Yeah, it did."

_**Flashback**_

_Gabriella angrily walked through the door, and into the Bolton's house, smacking it close behind her. He was home, because the door was unlocked, and whatever he was doing, he would have heard her. She had used all her strength in that smack._

"_TROOOOOOOY!?" she screamed, stomping into the living room, her heels clicking against the wooden floors. She really hoped his dad wasn't home, because she didn't want to get interrupted in this. She needed her space to yell at him, and bite his head off…_

_Troy appeared in the doorway into the kitchen, and held tightly onto the doorframe. He looked really scared, as his hair was tousled to the side, the way she loved it so much. But for once she didn't take notice to this. She just shot him an angry glare, and crossed the floor, stopping right before him._

"_Gabriella?" he questioned, blinking with his eyes. _

"_Troy!" she shrieked, "You wouldn't believe what I just heard!" _

_He took a step back, and swallowed hard, "What did you hear?" _

_Gabriella laughed, which came out as a high pitched giggle, because she was __that__ angry. She tried to hold back some of her anger, but she just couldn't. It hurt too much to think about what he had done. He'd slept with her best friend, while going out with her. He knew how close she and Sharpay were, and that he'd hurt her like that, after she gave everything to him, was just… It was just sad. She'd never be able to look the same way at either of them. It was too much, she was too ashamed. _

_Why hadn't she seen the signs? Well, she sorta had. She'd suspected that something was wrong, and other people had been on the verge of figuring it out too. After all that jazz with the magazine, and the 'false' story about Troy and Sharpay sneaking around… Gosh, she couldn't believe they'd actually managed to convince her there. How could she have been so blind? And that they'd lie to her, into her face, when she had confronted them… Urgh, she was so angry!_

"_Gabs?" he said, slowly lifting his hand on to touch her arm, but she jerked back._

"_Don't touch me!" she shrieked, as tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at him, hurt and betrayal written across her normally beautiful face. Right now, she looked haunted. _

"_I can't believe you…" she cried, letting the tears slide down her cheeks, "I can't believe you, Troy… I gave you everything I had. Everything. I really thought I'd found the guy to spend my life with. I loved you for God's sake! You were it, Troy! And you just.. You just trampled all over me!"_

"_I guess Sharpay told you, huh?" Troy whispered, his blue eyes immediately falling sad, while his smile faded._

"_You bet I did!" Gabriella screamed, hitting him across the chest, "She told me! I don't know why she suddenly decided to do so, because it surely didn't look like it was planned! I can't believe you two! And for SO long! I thought you loved me! I thought you guys were just friends… But you were with her. All the times you weren't with me, you were with her.."_

"_I'm sorry, Gabriella," Troy told her, swallowing hard, as he was still rubbing his chest were she had hit him, "I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." _

"_Then why did you?" Gabriella asked, looking up at him, "Why did you hurt me like that when you didn't 'mean' to? Why, Troy? I can't figure out what I did to you? Why did you sleep with her? Why? WHY!?"_

_He let out soft breath, and looked at the floor, "I fell in love…" he whispered. _

"_You fell in love?!" Gabriella shrieked, pushing him hard away, so he stumbled backwards, "And you decided to just screw her! Instead of telling me you fell for her, you decided to cheat on me, and just lead her on?! She's a bitch for what she's done to me, but if you guys had come to me before doing anything, I would've understood!"_

"_It's easy for you to say that now, Gabriella." Troy said, swallowing hard, "You wouldn't have felt the same if we'd come to you four months ago… and stop calling her a bitch! She's not a bitch, I love her." _

_Gabriella shook her head, and took a step back, "You're an idiot, Troy. You've ruined the best thing that ever happened to me. I loved Sharpay more than anything in the entire world. We've always been like sisters. And we would have been big. The Sweethearts would have been big, hadn't it been for you…" she shook her head again, as another tear rolled down her cheek, "But we can't do that now…" _

"_Are The Sweethearts breaking apart?!" Troy exclaimed, his eyes wide. His father would kill him, once he figured out that Troy was the reason for all this. He would absolutely kill him. _

"_Did you really think I could forgive her for this?" Gabriella asked, cocking an eyebrow, "You're really naïve, Troy… I can't believe that you're that stupid. How did I even go out with you? Maybe you guys are more alike… Sharpay's just as blonde!"_

_And with those words, she turned around and went out of the house, Troy just staring after her. He couldn't believe that this was the end. It was the end of everything. The Sweethearts, Gabriella and Sharpay's friendship, his relationship with Sharpay, and his friendship with Gabriella…_

_What had he done? _

_**End of flashback. **_

Cole had left her for a while, so she could be alone, and get ready for her performance. She was so excited to go on stage. She was really nervous to be alone for once, but she also knew she'd feel good about it once she got it done. There were so many songs she couldn't wait to sing on stage. There was such a history behind almost each of them, because she had written them herself. It was how she had been feeling during this whole ordeal. It had hurt her, but she'd also learned a lot from it.

And there were a lot of good things coming from this too. If Sharpay and Troy hadn't been sneaking around behind her back, she would have never gotten together with Cole, because then she would probably still have been with Troy. And Cole was so wonderful. He was one thing she definitely didn't want to ever let go of.

She knew that Sharpay wasn't dating anyone… not that it mattered. It wasn't like she checked all the gossip magazines, to look up on her friend, or anything. It wasn't like she waited for the day (Thursday) were all the news came. She just happened to buy the magazines she knew contained gossip about her ex-best friend.

And Sharpay definitely wasn't seeing anyone. She hadn't been for the past year, not since Troy. And if she had, it wasn't someone the world knew about. But Gabriella really believed she hadn't, because she had never had it easy with boyfriends. She hadn't had many serious ones while they were still friends, and Gabriella had never understood why, because she, herself, had had many.

But right now she couldn't be happier about Sharpay and her weird ways. For because of that, she hadn't been dating, and Gabriella didn't want her to be happy. She knew it sounded harsh, but she really didn't. Not after what she had done… But still, she couldn't help but think… Maybe Troy had been the one guy Sharpay had waited for, and she never got the chance to really have him, because she, Gabriella Raúl Montez, her best friend, had been in the way?

She let out a sigh, and decided not to think about it any longer. She'd much rather think about happier things… About Cole, and all her great songs…

_**Flashback**_

"_If I should lose your love, boy, Shame on me, I was just too stubborn, Too blind to see…" Gabriella softly hummed, as she looked down at the paper, scribbling furiously. She had really been pumped on inspiration lately. Ever since she broke up with both Troy and Sharpay around two months ago, the lyrics had just been coming to her. And they weren't just about love (though most of them were), they were also about other things. Things that moved her. She couldn't wait if she would ever get to sing these song, maybe even release her own album, with just personal songs, and no Sharpay-influence. _

_She stopped and stared down at the paper for a moment. She had a bit trouble with the chorus, but she knew it'd come. She had all the other stuff down, but she needed the chorus. And of course, if she ever wanted to get this published, people would probably edit and add anyway. _

"_If I should lose your love boy, Shame on me, I was just too stubborn, Too blind to see, That I would lose your love, boy, Just tell me how to get you back, 'Cause I could never lose your love, Don't wanna lose your love…" _

_She smiled to herself, and wrote the rest of the chorus down. Sometimes it just came to her. She frowned though, when she realized who she was thinking about, while writing and singing this. He had shaggy brown hair, and piercing blue eyes, and his name was Troy Bolton._

_Gabriella let out a sigh. Sure, she still wasn't over him, but she was getting closer. Writing songs and working with her emotions really helped her get through this. She also looked at the 'breaking news' front page clip of The Sweethearts' break up. There was a huge picture of both herself and Sharpay, and under that, the title. _

_On the inside, page after page was written about them, and what the writer believed could be the cause of their break up. They had guessed and guessed, because Sharpay, who had told the press about all this, hadn't wanted to give them a reason except for the quote that still haunted her: _

'_We just want different things. Our hearts aren't really in this group anymore. We like different styles of music, and we write different songs. It's time for changes in both our lives.' _

…_but the journalists had guessed and guessed, and some of them had guessed correctly. No one ever told them they had though, so it really didn't matter. No one (except the selected few) knew the real reason for all this, and Gabriella intended to keep it that way. She really didn't want to lose face… _

_**End of flashback **_

Gabriella roamed through her suitcase, and fixed the year old magazine cut out of it. She couldn't help but look at it once in awhile, and she brought it with her practically everywhere when she travelled. Even when she just had to go home to visit her family. She kinda felt good by having it close to her, because sometimes she really needed to think about the past, and how well everything had been back then.

But things were good again now, weren't they? She had a wonderful boyfriend, and a great new album. 'G' was so well, and all the old fans had bought it, because they wanted to know if she did as well on her own as Sharpay did.

Their styles in music was very different, just as their personalities were. Sharpay's music was way more up-beat, and made people want to dance along like maniacs. It was very pop-y, just like Sharpay's wardrobe also was, wherever she went. Gabriella herself was more to the quiet songs, and the calm and collected look. Just like she was calm and collected herself. Except when… she got really, _really_ angry.

Gabriella grabbed the cutting, and sat down in the comfy chair Cole had been sitting in before. She rested her head against it, and closed her eyes for a second, just relaxing. It was almost like yoga, it just relaxed her completely.

As she closed her eyes, she got to think about Cole, and their relationship. She had written a song about him, dedicated to him, and she was gonna open with it tonight. It was called 'Make You Mine', and it was also the name of her single.

She couldn't help but giggle, as she remembered how she met Cole again… It was a regular day, just 8 months ago…

_**Flashback **_

_Gabriella was silently sipping her latte, while reading her book. She also wrote on some of her lyrics once in awhile, when she suddenly got inspiration. It could come in the middle of a sentence, and then she'd just write it down. _

_It was 1:30pm on a simple Wednesday afternoon, so not many people were out. Well, people were out, but they didn't really have time to grab a latte, in the middle of the busy Albuquerque street, and that was very okay with Gabriella. She wasn't in the mood for people to come ask for autographs today, because she wanted to enjoy herself. People still came up to her and asked her to write on anything, and she hadn't really been releasing anything since the last single with The Sweethearts, and that was months ago! It was quite unbelievable that people could still be that obsessed. _

_Gabriella closed her book and placed it on the table. Another chapter was finished. It was nice. She always got so satisfied with herself, when she'd finished a chapter. And then when the book as was all done, she had to pad herself on the shoulder. She grabbed her cup, and sipped her latte for a second, her eyes wandering around the café. _

_Nothing really was going on. There were two waitresses standing behind the counter, looking bored. And elderly couple was sitting in the other end of the café, and a two young men were talking to each other a few boots away from where she was sitting herself. She let her eyes linger on one of them, as she seemed to remember his face from somewhere. It wasn't really clear in her memory, but something about his features just got to her. Where had she seen him before? _

_Suddenly, the guy looked up, and their eyes locked. She blushed a bit, and turned her look downwards, to study the table. She bit her lip, not wanting to look up again, even though she could feel his eyes on her. She just kept staring at the table. It was kinda embarrassing, to be caught staring like that. And it really wasn't like her. That was more Sharpay-ish. She always stared at other people, and pointed out all the hot guys, and the beautiful girls. And then she always had a conversation with herself, about which guy on the street, had the cutest butt._

_Gabriella sometimes missed her, but the butt-conversations was one thing she was happy to be without. Though, when she felt down, because of everything, it would have been nice to have her blonde friend with her, just to cheer her up. _

_She curiously looked up, as someone slumped into the seat before. Her eyes landed on the guy again, but she still couldn't remember where she'd seen him before. _

"_Hey…" he mumbled, shooting her a cute smile. _

_Gabriella looked behind him, confused, "Where did your friend go?" _

"_He had to work," the guy shrugged, and studied her face as well, "What have you been up to? Long time no see…" _

_She swallowed hard, and once again digged through her memory to figure out from where she knew him, but it didn't work very well, "I just…" she pointed at her book, and then the latte, "…I was just reading. Relaxing." She replied._

_He arched an eyebrow, and then broke into a wide grin, "You don't remember me, do you?" _

"_No!" Gabriella whined, happy that he was so calm about it, "I was really trying to figure out where I knew you from, but I just… bah, my mind has gone numb. I lost all communication with my brain, so I couldn't think of where I've seen you." _

"_Don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head, "My name is Cole, and I think you spoke two words with me." he paused, as she still didn't look like she remembered, "Do you recall people wanting to make a documentary called 'A Year With The Sweethearts' or something along those line?" _

"_Oh my God!" she exclaimed, excitingly clapping her hands together, "You're the third camera dude!" _

"_Yuup," he said, "That's me. Cole; third camera dude!"_

_Gabriella laughed, and he soon joined her. His laugh was really nice, she noticed. And his smile was so bright. His eyes were a great, grey colour, something she rarely saw. Aw, he was cute! _

"_So yeah…" he finished, as they'd both calmed down, "I heard about The Sweethearts, I'm so sorry."_

"_It's okay."_

"_Why did you break up?" _

"_Eh…" Gabriella swallowed hard, "I can't really say. I only tell people that I know well. Right now, I think a total of maybe ten people know this secret…" _

_He leaned in closer, their noses almost touching, "…can I be the eleventh?" _

"_Do you feel like I know you?" Gabriella questioned, not really minding the close contact with him. She felt calmed somehow, she felt… safe. _

"_Nah…" he trailed off, as he paused to think, "But if I took you out tonight, do you think we could get to know each other better, and then you could tell me?" he suggested, a grin on his face. _

"_Maybe someday." Gabriella just replied, pulling back from him. _

"_Oh, 'someday'?" he questioned, using air quotes, as he leaned back in the chair, "'Someday' can be way far ahead in the future… Does that mean that we'll see more to each other than just tonight?" _

"_It might mean that…" Gabriella trailed off, a twinkle in her eyes. She suddenly felt better again. She felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time. She felt truly… happy. _

"_Wowsie!" Cole chuckled, "Look at me, Cole; third camera dude, getting a date with Gabriella Montez; former member of The Sweethearts. That's pretty dang good, don't you think? I wonder how I'll show it off to the boys? …can I take a picture!?" he exclaimed, grabbing his cell phone. _

_Gabriella giggled, and shoved it away, "Stop being so silly!" she laughed. _

"_Alright…" he mumbled, as he stuffed it into his jacket again, "Where do we meet tonight? Do you have a favourite place?"_

"_How about the Italian restaurant?" Gabriella asked. _

"_Great," he said, as he stood up, and gave her one last look, "Be there at 6…"_

"_Oh," she smiled, as she watched him leave, "Don't worry about it… I will."_

_**End of flashback.**_

Gabriella smiled happily to herself, as she thought about the date. It had been so wonderful. He really knew how to make a great first date. After eating a great dinner, they'd taken a walk around town, hand in hand, and she had felt more connected to him, than she did with Troy on their first date. That had also assured her, that maybe this was the right guy.

After that, she'd invited him up to her apartment, but he hadn't tried to do anything. She'd just made coffee, and they'd plopped in a movie. They'd talked and watched TV through the night, and when he left around 2:30pm, he'd kissed her goodbye, gently on the lips.

The thought of it, still gave her butterflies in her stomach, and she wanted to be with him forever.

Just then Cole came through the doors, and made his way behind her chair, looking at the magazine cut, above her shoulder. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and lowered his mouth to her ear; "Ready for later, babe?"

She turned her head to the side, and smiled, "I'm so ready."

"I figured out who else is gonna be here…" Cole told her, a weird look in his eyes.

"Really?" Gabriella asked, as she stood up, and grabbed his hand, "Who?"

"Jesse McCartney is going on right before you!" Cole exclaimed, happiness streaming through his eyes, but the happiness soon fainted…

"And who's on after me?" Gabriella questioned.

"Guess?" Cole tried, his smile stiff.

Gabriella thought about it, before suggesting the only name she could think of, "Carrie Underwood?"

"No…" Cole trailed off, as he swallowed hard, "No. Sharpay Evans."

_From Stessa;__ So yeah! That was this chapter! I think we were fairly quick this time, do you not? And did you like how we've cut one year ahead, and made it all in flashbacks? I think it was a great idea, 'cuz it gave us the chance to get everything we wanted in it! And yeah… Please review us! It means the world to us!… and also! Did you like how we called Gabriella's CD for 'G' and Sharpay's CD for 'Headstrong'? Lol x3_

_From AK-tutti;__ You are so weird, Stessa. You are almost on the same level of weirdness as me. The year cutting flashback idea was Stessa's and I agreed, because it was a good idea, and it was better than what I had in mind, soo... So next chapter will be all Sharpay, so you can look forward to that, and we hope you liked this chapter, and if you did you better review. If you don't, Stessa'll come after ya! I would myself, but I have it all in my mouth, so yeah.. Anyway, thanks for reading, and again please review. Before I go I'd like to throw in a by the way, so by the way I have two eyes!_

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

_From AK-tutti;__ Hi there :). Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews, they mean the world to us. Also, we hope you won't be too disappointed with us, but this chapter won't be about Sharpay, like we said, it will be about Troy. Don't blame us, blame the person who asked us a very intelligent question in a review, she made us realize, that you guys also has to know, what happened to Troy in that year. So yeah, give it up for chapter 13._

_From Stessa;__ So here we are, once again. This time with chapter 13! Ooh, is that a bad number? Gosh, I hope it won't cause this chapter bad luck, lolz. And oh, I know we said we were gonna do Sharpay's kinda-POV in this chapter, but ah… slight change of plans. It's all Troy's point of view for now. I hope you enjoy. … and thanks for the reviews, btw!_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical. _

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 13.**

Troy sighed, as he rested his head in his hands, closing his eyes. He was so tired. He really didn't have energy to finish this tonight, but he had to. It was very important that he figured out how many money he had left. He felt like he had no money, but that couldn't be true. He couldn't have spent them all. He earned okay money at his new job, so he should be able to pay the rent and still buy food.

He couldn't concentrate though, because for some reason, a certain blonde girl had been haunting him all day. He didn't know why, but some days the memories hurt more than other days. Today had been one of the bad days. He'd seen her face every time he saw a blonde girl on the street, but of course it was never her. She didn't go around in Albuquerque like that.

He regretted everything so much now. There was so many thing he wished he could go back and change. He wished he had never asked Gabriella out in the first place. He didn't understand either, why he had liked her so much at first. Why hadn't he seen Sharpay for the wonderful person she was in the beginning? He admitted, he had thought she was a bit weird, and Gabriella used to tell him, that a lot of guys thought that, and that it was the reason, Sharpay hadn't had many boyfriends.

He just wanted to be with her. Even a year after, he wished he could hold her. He'd tried to move on, but that was very hard. He really believed she was the one. If he could just have her, all the other stuff didn't matter. She was like, the person who could make him happy. If he just looked at one of the old pictures of them, or read an article about her, he'd immediately feel happier. He didn't understand why that was, after a whole year, and the only somewhat good explanation he could come up with, was that he still loved her like crazy.

He remembered everything like it was yesterday. How Sharpay had broken up with him, only to go home and tell Gabriella about their affair, causing her to break up with him as well. It didn't really hurt that much, because he had seen it coming, but really… when Sharpay broke up with him, it had felt like his whole world was ending. After she left that day, he was just… he was just crying. And he was never one to cry. Never.

_**Flashback**_

_Troy stared blankly at the door that closed behind the potential love of his life. He didn't know how to react. She wanted to stay friends!? Seriously, did she really believe he could be __only__ friends with her after what they'd experienced? The love he had felt when the two of them were together, was nothing like he'd ever had before, how could he just forget that, and move on? _

_He knew that having her as a friend would hurt even more than never seeing her again. Sure, if he had her as a friend, he could make sure she was alright, and be able to watch her beauty from after. But he'd also have to watch her, when she found someone else to be with, and marry and be happy with. He wouldn't be able to do that, he knew it, so it would be far better to never see her again. _

_And really, how could he ever be happy with Gabriella after this? He'd have to break up with her. It wasn't working. And if she ever found out about it, she'd throw him out anyway. It wasn't just a one night stand… It had been four months already! He hated himself for not being weak enough to end it with Sharpay. Sure, he loved her like crazy, but he really loved Gabriella as well. He didn't quite know how to make a difference between the two kind of loves. _

_With Sharpay, he felt like he was missing a huge part of his heart, when he wasn't with her. And with Gabriella, he hated it when she got hurt, and he hated it even more when he was the one hurting her. _

_He stood up from his seat, and went into the hallway. He took on his sneakers and his jacket, before hurrying outside. He needed to see his father. Not that he could really talk to him about all this, it would just be nice to get home to his childhood house. It was always so calming. _

_It was a bit cold, but not too much. He kept his pace, and hurried along the sidewalk. Luckily enough, the house wasn't that far away. It was always a great thing. _

_He couldn't help but think about Sharpay, and what could have been if things had been different. If they hadn't been a dirty affair, he could have asked her to marry him. But now… He would never see her again. He didn't want to anymore. It was stupid to try and talk to her. She had made up her mind. _

_**End of flashback. **_

Troy digged into his bottom drawer, and took out the old picture of him and Sharpay. They had never had that many pictures taken with just the two of them, but this one was really good. It had been one night, he and Sharpay had been together at her house, and she had taken a picture of them both.

They were lying on the couch, and just snuggled together. Her hair was messy, and her make-up was smudged, but she looked perfect. And he just looked so happy, and so in love. It was shining through his eyes, and it made him love the picture even more. It was just so perfect. So, so perfect.

He placed the frame on the table, and closed the drawer, before standing up to go fix himself some coffee in the kitchen. On the way there, he turned on the radio, just as a song was ending.

"_And that was 'Less Than Jake', and the next one, is from the old Sweetheart Gabriella Montez. She just released a single, all for her boyfriend Cole. It's called 'Make You Mine', and apparently she wrote it right after they met each other._" One of the speakers announced.

"_Oh really?_" the other questioned, "_Whatever happened to Troy Bolton?_"

"_I don't know._" the first one said, "_Haven't heard much about him since The Sweethearts broke up._"

"_Sad, isn't it? …anyway, here it is: 'Make You Mine'._"

_(All I want to do is stand close to you)  
(All I want to do is stand close to you)_

I'll be the one to tell everyone I'm gone  
I've fallen in  
To a place I can begin to understand.  
I'm just happy you're here to hold my hand-

Troy quickly turned off the radio again, not wanting to listen to her. Her songs were everywhere. Sharpay's songs were everywhere as well. They hurt even more to listen to, than Gabriella's did. And even though it had been a year, people still talked about the break up.

But at least she sounded happy. If she had a boyfriend now. And she always seemed happy when he saw her on TV or read about her in magazines. Sharpay was another story. Sure, she seemed very happy as well, but there was just something different about her…

He poured himself another cup of coffee, and went into the living room again, as he remembered the day his father found out about The Sweethearts breaking up. He hadn't been happy…

_**Flashback**_

_Troy stood outside his father's place, oh how it brought back memories of his mom, he almost couldn't bare looking at the house, but like he'd once been told; you can't avoid the ghosts of the past forever. He had to face the house sooner or later, and apparently he had chosen much sooner than later._

_It had been five hours, since Sharpay had broken up with him, it had been three and a half, since Gabriella had. It was dark outside already, it usually didn't turn dark that early in may month, but it had been a rainy and stormy day, so that explained it. He stood in front of the door, debating with himself whether or not he should knock on the door, chances were that he had already found out about the Sweethearts, and in that case he wouldn't be happy, and Troy would be in so much trouble. It was so annoying, that he could still be in trouble with his dad, even after he'd just turned 18, but obviously that came with the territory of screwing up._

_He decided to knock on the door, he was gonna have to do it some day, so why not rip the bandage right off? Quick and painless, even though that never worked, it was always painful! But hadn't ripping it off been the best since forever? His mom had used to say, that it was much more healthier to let the wound breathe, than to cover it up with bandages, and like daddy used to say; mommy knows best._

_After his signature knock, three knocks, he awaited his dad's arrival in the door, wondering if he knew about his son's huge screw-up. He could any given day pull a Sharpay and call it 'creative freedom', whenever he'd screw up, but that wouldn't be so grown-up. Oh, my God, now he was thinking about her again, he'd have to learn to forget about her soon, he couldn't keep this up. She'd chosen to let him go, he should let her go as well. End of discussion, with himself?_

_"Troy!" He got pulled out of his thoughts by his dad, who'd just opened his front door. He didn't look happy, ergo Sharpay or Gabby must have told him about it. "Get it in, we need to have a serious talk!"_

_Mr. B. lead his son into the living room, even though Troy already knew the way into it perfectly himself, but he sensed right now, it would be best not to talk! He would let his dad calm down, and then he'd talk back. He had to defend himself, even though there wasn't much to defend._

_When they entered the living room, Troy was surprised to find Sharpay sitting there, but he quickly figured out, that she must have told him. Wow, she was a busy bee today, she didn't waste any time at all. She went from his 'girlfriend' to his personal 'backstabber', he'd always wanted one of those. She had occupied the chair, obviously she didn't wanna risk having to sit next to him, and he sorta understood her, he wouldn't want to sit next to him either, but then again if she could run around and blab their business to everybody, she could survive sitting next to him for a bit._

_Troy sat down on the sofa in the far end from Sharpay, and his father sat down in the near end to Sharpay. Troy could feel this was gonna be uncomfortable, that they were gonna gang up on him or something, of course he couldn't be sure about that, before this whole thing was over. If Troy was lucky, his dad blamed Sharpay as much as he blamed him, but he wasn't that lucky, today had proven that._

_"Dad.." Troy tried, with his little boy voice, to soften his dad a little bit up. "Dad, I'm sorry."_

_"Sorry? You think sorry cuts it?" His father asked, unable to hold back a laughter of mockery. Troy looked down, ashamed, he knew sorry would be a long shot, but he had to try all his opportunities, before he went down with that flag. Mr. B seemed very disappointed in him, more than he seemed upset, so he'd have to be a lot disappointed. _

_"Sorry doesn't cut it, Troy. You're 18 now, you're suppose to be a grown-up, you're suppose to take responsibility for your actions." He stopped for a moment, to check if his son was paying attention, and he was. "Sharpay has. Not once did she try to use the apology 'creative freedom', she hurt her best friend and she took her part of the responsibility, at least when she talked to me. She saw all the perspectives of the case, instead of just her own, like she did when she told Gabriella about it." _

_Troy sent his father a questioning look, but Mr. B brushed it off. "Don't give me that look, I hope you realize, Sharpay had a mouth, she told me about it, I hoped you could go that far in your brain. And I also hope you realize, that Sharpay is a human with true feelings, not just some girl you can continue to nail, because you feel upset over your mom. Sharpay has realized, that it was all wrong, even if you said you needed her, still when she couldn't say no, she knew it was wrong, but obviously you didn't, because you wanted to keep going. Sharpay broke up with you, because she knew it was wrong, and it deep down hurt Gabriella, though she didn't know at that point, and after that she stepped up and told Gabriella the truth about everything, and as expected it wasn't received very well, but she still did the right thing. I'm sure, though, had you had it your way, you'd still be galloping around in Teen Troy Land."_

_Troy was really upset with his father at that time, he wanted to say something really hurtful, but what? "Hey dad? You do realize Sharpay has a mouth to use? Why won't you let her talk for herself?" Ok, not what he had in mind, but he wasn't good at these things. And really, who was expected to be?_

_"I'm speaking for her, because she doesn't wanna speak with you." Mr. B explained, rather harshly, but he didn't care. "You should praise yourself lucky, that Sharpay wants to go for a solo career, where she still wants me to manage her, and she's gonna be signed with Bolton records."_

_It was hard to be mad now, because he was happy, that Sharpay might get her big break as a solo artist as well, but it was his fault, The Sweethearts didn't exist anymore, and he knew that very well. Why couldn't he just take some responsibility, like his dad wanted him to?_

_"What are you barking about then?" Troy just said, not wanting to show any sign of weakness. "You still have one of your trophies, so why are you so upset with me?"_

_"Because what you did was below belt point, ok? Do you understand that, Troy?" His dad tried to explain, he didn't know if he got through though. "A real guy wouldn't jump into bed with his girlfriend's best friend and business partner, just because he's upset over something, and if that mistake should occur, a real guy would tell his girlfriend straight away with the bigger possibility of being forgiven. Do you see, Troy?"_

_"I see, what you're saying, dad. But I fell in love with Sharpay, I couldn't help it." Troy said, not wanting to take eye contact with neither his dad nor Sharpay. "I was in love with two girls, and I couldn't chose, and when I was finally able to, it got blown with both of them. So stop screaming at me, dad, I've taken my punishment. And when the day comes, when I should be mature enough, I'll take my part of the blame, but I don't wanna discuss it right now, and I don't wanna see you again either. You're my dad, you should have my back always, not be behind Sharpay's at all times, or Gabriella when that chance occurs. Goodbye."_

_And with that being said, he got up from his seat in the couch without waiting for an answer from his dad, and since that day he never saw Jack Bolton again._

_**End of Flashback**_

At this day he realized, that maybe he should have stayed and talked it out a bit more, but he'd been really angry and didn't see reason, so he rushed the whole thing and ran out without finishing the conversation, like a real adult would have.

Today he still wondered, what Sharpay had told his dad of things, and if she'd really taken responsibility for her actions, like he hadn't yet achieved, but she must have, because like his dad said, she hadn't used the 'creative freedom' apology like she used to. Unless his dad had told him lies, but he would never know. He hadn't seen either of them for over a year.

That day a little over a year ago, when he'd left his dad's house so urgent, a part of him had hoped, that Sharpay would run after him, and they'd find a way through it all. He'd hoped, she'd realized right there and then, that they were it for each other, and that they were meant to be together, but she hadn't and he had been miserable ever since. According to the magazines and papers, she'd been miserable too, at least boyfriend wise, because she hadn't had any guy in her life since him, but Gabriella had told him the reason for Sharpay's lack of boyfriends before; they found her weird. He, on the other hand, found her charming.

He sighed and sat down in front of his laptop, once again, trying to solve his money problems. It just wasn't useful. He wasn't good at stuff like that. And when he had a night like this, and went into Sharpay-land, he knew he wouldn't get any further. It was useless. He couldn't stop thinking about her, when he'd started. It was so wrong of him, he knew that, but could he help himself? No, of course he couldn't.

He pushed his papers aside, and digged into his desk drawer again. He shouldn't do this, but he was in need of some good ole Sharpay-ness. He pulled out countless of magazine cuttings, and full magazines. His favourite was on top. There was a five page interview with her, from right after her CD was released. He loved to read through it. It gave him some weird feeling of knowing how she was. But of course it wasn't usable any longer, because it was so old. Surely, her life had changed since then.

There was also other magazines. There was one that just made him laugh. A paparazzi had caught her on a really bad time, and she looked horrible (though he found her cute)! She didn't look too happy though, he had to admit. He knew how those paparazzi could be. They were always digging into people's private lives. Not that he was very familiar with that kind of stuff, but a front page had been dedicated to him one time, after he knocked a 'journalist' down. It was right after The Sweethearts broke up, and every journalist in town had been waiting outside his front door, to get a statement from him. He'd gotten so angry, he hadn't been able to control himself.

It hadn't been one of his best days…

_**Flashback**_

_Troy stared through his almost shut drapes, clutching his keys tightly. He had no idea, how he was gonna get out of there. There were so many people out there, waiting just for him. How would he survive all their questions? He had no idea of what to say. He didn't know what he felt, and he didn't want to give them any details. Why didn't they just get lost? They were really annoying. _

_So far, it had been four days, and he was starting to get in the need of some food. Why exactly, was it that he didn't have emergency stocks in his apartment, for situations just like this one? _

_He sighed, and let the drapes fall in place. He had to get out of there. He needed fresh air and he needed food. He'd have to make a run for it. He'd have to take a chance. He'd have to open his door, go outside, quickly smack it close, then run to his car, jump into it, and drive the hell outta there. That was his plan. _

…_but just how exactly, would it work in real life? _

_He had no idea. _

_He carefully slid on his sneakers, and took his jacket on. He'd have to do it real fast, and take them by surprise. He didn't know how many people, who were out there, but there were more than twenty. There were journalists with papers, pens, recorders and video cameras. There were all kind of paparazzi photographers, with all kind of cameras. They'd definitely be able to snap some pictures of him, but he wouldn't make a sound. He was determined to keep his mouth shut, he wouldn't even tell them to move. It would do him no good. _

_They could juggle his words around, and completely change what he said. Sharpay had warned him about that a long time ago. She'd told him that, being the boyfriend of Sweetheart Gabriella Montez, would eventually bring him into the lights, and people would want to talk to him. But she said he shouldn't talk to just anyone. He'd have to make sure it was from a trustworthy magazine, and a good journalist. So far, he hadn't been in the lights, but now was the time. He'd just have to remember Sharpay's words, so he didn't screw up. _

_He took a deep breath, and debated his situation a bit more. It was now or never. He'd die of hunger if he didn't get out. He went down the stairs, until he was at the front door, and paused again, to get calm. When he was ready, he took in another sharp breath, grabbed the door handle, and went outside._

_When he was locking the door, the paparazzi seemed to get over their shocks, because they started taking picture after picture. Troy tried to hide his face, as he hurried across the parking lot, and towards his car. He ignored the million dollar questions, the journalists kept shooing at him. _

"_Troy? Troy!? How do you feel? You broke apart one of the greatest pop sensations of our time! How does that make you feel?" _

"_Did you take responsibility for your actions? You broke a million of girls' dreams. You broke their hearts!"_

"_Troy Bolton, why did you do what you did? Was it your plan from the very begging to date Gabriella Montez, and then seduce Sharpay Evans?" _

_Troy's jaw tightened, when he got to his car, but they were a load of people in front of it. They didn't seem to want to move, even when he motioned for them to do so. He shot them all death-glares, but it didn't help. They were tough people, otherwise they wouldn't have survived in the world they worked in._

"_Move." He said, his voice hard, "Move right now, or I'll call the police."_

_When no one seemed to move, he took his cell out of his pocket, and provocatively started pressing the numbers. That got a few of them to move, but the most hard ones kept standing there. He swallowed loudly._

"_Move!" he told them, as he tried to push past them. He heard cameras snapping, and immediately regretted it. He calmed down, and locked eyes with one of the men, "Please move?"_

"_Was Sharpay Evans the catch of the day?" the man asked, instead, "Was she a great hook up? Your little comfort whore? I heard your mother just died, did you need her 'nursing'?"_

_Troy didn't know what happened to him, but he saw red. He couldn't take the fact, that someone would speak about Sharpay that way. Their relationship had been nothing like that, and when people thought it had, it really hurt him. But when they talked that way about it, he lost his mind. _

_He couldn't recognize his own actions, because he launched forward, and hit the guy square across the face. A loud breaking noise was heard, and the cameras snapped like crazy, when Troy stopped, and stared at his hand. It was hurting like hell. He stared up, and locked eyes with the journalist, who was clutching his nose. _

_Before Troy managed to register anything, he'd turned around on his heel, and was running down the sidewalk, just getting away. He had to get away, he couldn't stay…_

_**End of Flashback**_

He stared at his picture, on the front page of another magazine. He couldn't recognize himself on that front page, and he was really disappointed. He'd been really angry, but also, very, very guilty about the incident. Even though the journalist got a lot of money for the pictures and the story, he'd sent him wine and chocolate, and an 'I'm sorry'-card. He just couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't done that.

He threw the magazine down on the table, and turned to his laptop again. He needed some news about Sharpay. He needed some pictures. He was in such a Sharpay-mood, and when he was that, he was beyond help. He needed a fix of her, he was like a drug addict. He was addicted, and he couldn't help himself.

He went onto Google, and typed her name in, in the search bar. Immediately, a whole bunch of links came up, and he clicked on the first one. It was an article. There was a picture of her on the top, and beneath that, he started reading the newest story.

_**Sharpay Evans is headed for the annual festival in Albuquerque. **_

_Sharpay Evans, former member of The Sweethearts, is going back to her old roots, after getting a gig at the local festival in Albuquerque. Her CD, Headstrong, has done really well, and it seems like her hometown can't wait to have one of their stars back. _

"_I'm very excited to be going home after being on the road for awhile," Sharpay revealed, two months ago, after her concert in Boston, "It's gonna be great to grab a mocha at my favourite coffee place."  
_

_What other stars are going to be at the festival, is not revealed yet, though rumours are flying around that a certain Jesse McCartney is going to be there. Carrie Underwood will most likely make an appearance as well, and that statement really made Sharpay nervous._

"_I know I've got success right now, but it's nothing compared to them," Sharpay smiled, after getting the news, "It's gonna be great to get on a stage which has held Jesse McCartney. I'm so excited to meet all the other artists too. Who knows, maybe I'll even meet an old friend? I've met so many people the last two years."_

Troy leaned back in his chair, and looked thoughtful for awhile. The Albuquerque festival? Oh wow, it was right here in town, and he didn't know his old love was coming? How could he not? But it wasn't like they had huge posters hanging around town, with the faces of the artists going there. He should have known, right? Some thing was so not-right about the fact that he didn't know.

He bit his lip for awhile, thinking things over in his head. Okay, so yeah. He'd have to get a ticket to that festival, that was for sure. He just hoped everything wasn't sold out yet. He should be damned if Sharpay was finally getting home from her touring, and he couldn't see her because he didn't have a ticket.

He quickly went onto the homepage for the festival, and bought a ticket immediately. He had no idea how he was gonna pay for it, with the financial trouble he was in already, but there was no question. He had to get in. If he didn't get to see her soon, he'd lose his mind.

When he'd bought it, a happy sigh escaped his lips. It wouldn't be long before he saw her for real again. Sure, she'd be onstage, and she wouldn't know of his presence, but he'd see her. He'd see her there, right before him. He knew it'd hurt, not to be able to touch her, and kiss her, but it'd be better than nothing. That was for sure.

He decided to check some of the other bands out, now when he was at it. They had the whole program on the homepage, with all the names of the artists and bands playing there. There was exceptions of course, because some of them weren't revealed yet. They were there as surprises. He didn't care about that though, he cared about Sharpay.

But to occupy himself, he scrolled down, his eyes moving over the screen. He froze however, when a certain name caught his eye. It was the name of a person he'd never thought he should see again. Someone he'd never wished to see again. And yet, there, a couple of names before Sharpay's, her names was.

Gabriella Montez.

_From Stessa;__ Oh wow. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm feeling really bad about my parts of it. I just don't think they're very good, but there you have it. We'd really appreciate reviews, and next chapter will be all about our dear Sharpay Evans. I love you all, you guys are great reviewers, so keep on doing your things (: _

_From AK-tutti;__ There you have it, my luvs. Did you enjoy it? I hope so. Next chapter, about our dear Sharpay, should be here soon, hopefully. We really are writing as fast as we can, though it may not seem like it, because of the insanely long delay, but we do. I hope it was worth the wait, this chapter. Oh, and the next chapter of my store 'I'd Rather Be Special' will be posted this weekend, monday the latest._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

_From AK-tutti;__ Hi guys. I'm very so for the extremely long delay, it's totally my fault. I'd told Stessa, I would continue this chapter, after I'd written and posted the next chapter of I'd Rather Be Special (which you should all read), but for a long amount of time, I was like totally lazy, not bothering to write, so there went a long time before it was done, and a long time before I could continue this. So sorry! Stessa is completely innocent. Oh, and thanks for the reviews._

_From Stessa;__ Hi there guys (: Thank you so much for the sweet reviews for last chapter. They really does make it easier to keep writing. Not that I'd stop, but yeah… This is the long awaited Sharpay-chapter, and yeah… I hope you enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical, or 'Headstrong', or anything… We don't own 100 Different Ways, which is a song I (AK-tutti) am using without Stessa's permission. Well, not the lyrics, just mentioning. Oh, we don't own Forever and a night either (sorry Stessa, but I'm in love with it)_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 14. **

Sharpay was pacing back and forth in her dressing room. She was so nervous, that she couldn't even think straight. She didn't know what to do with herself; she couldn't stand still, she couldn't stop her hands from moving, and keep herself from clearing her throat. It wasn't good, it was very, very bad.

She stopped in front of her mirror, and stared at herself. She was looking rather good. Her hair was down and wavy. She was wearing some cool make-up, which made her face and hair sparkle. Her outfit was cool too. Just great for her style. Her skirt was short, and flew around her knees, while her top was tight and glittery. She was wearing comfy shoes – because really, who could dance like she did in high heels?

She really had to thank her personal stylist for this. She was just so perfect. She travelled with her everywhere. She had just coloured a few strands of her hair blue, and cut her some sort of fringe. It looked awesome. And the clothes – she always knew how to make comfy look good. Sharpay loved her to no end. She wouldn't know what to do without her.

Her name was Kelsi, and it was very weird because she wasn't very up-to-date herself. She had round glasses, and short curly hair, which was kept in place by a new hat each day. But she somehow knew how to dress Sharpay for a show. And when it came to making public appearances, she was okay too. And with help from Sharpay herself, it just got awesome. Kelsi also played the piano. She was very talented, and Sharpay felt like she was holding her down; Kelsi she should be writing plays for Broadway, but she stuck with Sharpay. And Sharpay really appreciated that.

She released a breath she hadn't even known she was holding, and took a step closer to the mirror. She watched her own face carefully. She looked really tired, and she also was. She hadn't been able to sleep. Sure, this was not her first performance without Gabriella; but it was the first real big thing. The other things she had been doing, were nothing compared to this, and she could feel it on her nerves. She had been mall-touring right after 'Headstrong' came out, and it had been fun. But no serious business like this.

She turned around and sat herself down in a comfy chair – every dressing room had one. She knew she had to calm down; Kelsi would scream at her if she saw her like this. She knew she would. She leaned back in the chair, and pulled her feet up, closing her eyes softly.

She wished she had someone there with her. Sure, Kelsi was great. She always supported her; the girl went with her everywhere. And her four dancers were awesome too, but… They just weren't like that. She wished she had a boyfriend to spend time with. She wished, that right now, someone would give her a calming massage. That, right before she went on stage, she'd get a kiss from the love of her life, and it'd boost her with energy… But no one was there. She was all alone.

_Okay Sharpay, admit it, _she told herself, as she got lost in thoughts of him, _You just want Troy there with you, right? It's not just anyone you want, you want him… Why did you ever break up with him? You didn't fix anything! Sure, you made yourself feel better, but now you're feeling like shit… Goood, Sharpay! Get over it!_

She groaned, and covered her eyes with her hands. Like anyone would ever want to date her. Sure, Troy had done it, but… if she even dared to go out with anyone else, it was totally screwed up… No one liked her. They just found her weird.

_**Flashback**_

'_Okay', Sharpay told herself, as she slumped into her chair, nervously looking around the restaurant. She hoped no one would notice her tonight; she just wanted to get this over with, 'It's just a date.. Nothing serious has to happen; you just have to get some action. Act normal! No weird conversation, alright? You got it? Great!'_

_Sharpay swallowed hard, and started fidgeting with her fork and knife. It was just a date. Bryan, one of her dancers, had set her up. He said she really needed to get laid. But he didn't know her… She could go on for a long time without any action; she was used to it. Though it was difficult, after getting so used to having someone for four months… But yeah, nothing she couldn't handle. _

_She leaned back in her chair, waiting for her date to arrive. She decided to study the ceiling. It was wood, so she could count each piece. _

_One, two, three – oh, why didn't he show up? – four, five, six, seven – seriously, if he didn't show soon, she was gonna leave – eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen – _

"_Hey." _

_She looked down, and came face to face with a pretty handsome guy. He had piercing brown eyes – they were almost black. He was shooting her a cute smile, and she could see a line of shiny white teeth. He was wearing casual clothes, but not too comfy. His hair was black, and rather short. His skin was almost the colour of chocolate – he looked cute. _

"_Hi," she said, and shot him a huge smile, as she sat more comfortable in her chair, "My name's Sharpay." _

"_Zeke," he replied, and sat down in front of her, still smiling. _

"_So?" Sharpay begun, when they were sitting there, just glancing at each other, getting more comfortable, "What's your deal, Zeke? How do you know Bryan?"_

"_We went to school together," Zeke replied, with a soft shrug, "And of course I know he's your dancer. Your music is really great by the way." _

"_Oh, thank you!" Sharpay exclaimed, immediately liking this guy (though he was no Troy). She shot him another smile, and cleared her throat, "It's not the same without Gabriella of course, but I'm doing good." _

"_Yeah, seems like it." Zeke mumbled, just as a waiter came to take their orders. They quickly decided on something, and he left, leaving them in a silence – now a pretty uncomfortable one. Sharpay fidgeted with her fork again, and traced the outlines of the table, through the table cloth. _

_Zeke was watching her closely, she knew that. She could feel it. His eyes were digging holes in her head, and she decided to look up, to break the silence. She opened her mouth, to speak, but no words came out; _

'_Say something, Sharpay!', she mentally told herself, 'Say something now! You're looking like a goldfish, sitting with your mouth open like that. If you can't speak, at least close it. Oh, you can't do that either? Then.just.say.something! Please… Anything, Sharpay, anything would be great… Just put some words together…'_

"_Don't you just hate doctors?" she blurted out, and before he even managed to think about speaking, she had continued, "I mean, they're so spooky. They have needles, and when they have to take blood, it's just icky. I always passed out when I was a kid. Did you? They look so creepy in their white clothes. I hate going there, but I still have to, when I travel like I do. Do you go a lot, or is it just me-?"_

_His eyes were wide, when he held a hand out to stop her, "Calm down, Sharpay…" he said, and chuckled awkwardly, "Calm down. No, I don't hate doctors." _

_Sharpay swallowed, and smacked herself mentally. Why did she have to ask that? Seriously, asking about doctors was like the dumbest thing she could do! Why did she have to be like that? Why did she have to get nervous, and then because she was nervous, get even more nervous? She could kill herself for it!_

_Luckily, she didn't have to think much more about it, because their food arrived, and she happily digged into it. Zeke started eating too, and she eyed him curiously. He was very handsome, but he wasn't really her type… Her type wouldn't have reacted that way to her rant; Troy would have never done that._

_Gosh, there she went, thinking about Troy, while being on a date? How blonde can one be? _

_Zeke seemed to eat really fast, and she knew why; he wanted to get out of there. He didn't want to give her a second chance. He didn't even want to spend one night with her; she was too weird for a one-night stand. _

_She wanted to make him stay, though. She didn't want her first date in months to end with her date walking out on her. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do, to grab his attention. Her eyes fell on the straws in the middle of their table, and she snatched two. Stuffing them into her nose, she turned her head upwards._

"_Hey Zeke…" she said, and when he looked up, she continued; "Look at me, I'm a walrus!" _

_Zeke stared at her, open-mouthed, before he pushed his chair back, getting up. She lost all hope… he was leaving._

"_Alright," he said, as he shook his head, and slowly walked backwards away from her, "You may be hot, and you may be famous… but I'm not getting into this… You're – you're weird." _

_And then he was gone. _

_Sharpay let out a deep sigh, and looked around the restaurant, where a few people were watching her. She waved at them, like it was no big deal, and licked her lips. She felt so much better now. Reaching across the table, to grab some of Zeke's food, she decided that no blind dates, was one of her future rules. _

_**End of flashback.**_

"Sharpay?"

Sharpay snapped out of the memory, and looked up, to come face to face with Kelsi. The short girl (who only wished to grow), was smiling at her, through her glasses. Sharpay couldn't help but smile right back at her. Kelsi just always made her feel better. She was like the new Gabriella; but still, not. They weren't the best of friends, like Sharpay had been with Gabriella. Kelsi was something else, their relationship was different, and Sharpay couldn't really explain it. She just thought it was nice to have someone to count on.

"Hey Kels, what's up?" Sharpay asked, as she raised herself up from the chair. It was weird, she felt like, she had to stand up everytime, she spoke to her stylist. She adjusted herself, so she stood right in front of Kelsi, her arms crossed. She listened best that way.

"Change of plans." Kelsi announced, pulling hairspray, clips and all kinds of things out of the shoulder bag, she was carrying. Sharpay sighed and pouted, she knew what was about to come. "I think it'll be best, if your hair is up and messy, but still organized, it'll go better with your outfit than the wavy. Oh, and I've brought you your 'Sharpay-laces', as the fans call them."

Sharpay's mouth dropped, when she received the laces from Kelsi, and was pushed down in the make-up chair. Damn! She loved being styled and all that, but she still had a least favorite thing, and that had to be having her hair done, because it always took hour after hour.

She groaned inwardly, fighting the urge to scream. She did an impressive job at that, one thing she couldn't fight though, was her other urge, the one to object! "No, seriously? You can't mean that, don't I have anything to say? C'mon this hair took forever to do, 2½ hours to be exact, and you used a ton of hairspray, so I don't really think you can do anything else with. I refuse to sit here another 2 hours to have my hair done! I mean it!"

Kelsi just shook her head and laughed at Sharpay's silly-ness, she wasn't having any of it. Sharpay always objected, when she had her hair done, and the dive always came out in her around that time. The short stylist started her new hair project, with the star making faces.

A knock was heard on the door, it could only be one person; Sharpay's manager. "Come in!" The blonde diva yelled with a sing-song voice, followed with mumbles. "And save me, please."

Sharpay wasn't the best mumbler, so that earned her a smack in the back of her head from Kelsi.

Jack Bolton entered and smiled at his favorite girl. He walked over to her and took her hand. "You look amazing, Sharpay. You're gonna do great." He said, still smiling at her. He was so proud, almost like Sharpay was his own daughter. He let go of her hand and took a seat in the comfy chair, Sharpay had been sitting in 10 minutes ago, watching Kelsi redo Sharpay's hair.

"Apparently not great enough for some people." She said, clearly irritated. Jack Bolton being there helped a little though, took some of the annoyance of being stuck in the chair for two hours away.

She remembered the day, she had come to him, and she had told him everything. She had begged for forgiveness from him, for breaking up the sweethearts, she had taking all the responsibility for it, though he hadn't wanted it, and she had asked him to be her manager still. An offer he had gladly accepted.

_**Flashback**_

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

_No answer. He was probably still depressed over his dearly beloved wife, who passed away some time ago, but right now Sharpay couldn't really care less. This was an emergency, and she needed him right now. Well, actually the emergency occured a week ago, and she felt it was enough time for the world to digest The Sweethearts' break-up, so she could go after her solo carreer. She had left a statement on their official website about the split, but she knew it'd only be one of many, and people wanted to get one from Gabriella as well. She didn't care, Gabriella could blab about anything she wanted to, she wasn't Sharpay's problem anymore. Ok, a bit harsh, but what was to be expected, when they were this upset with each other?_

_She didn't wanna think about that right now, she needed mr. B. She had to tell him everything, she had to beg for forgiveness, and she had to ask for him to continue to be her manager as a solo artist, because he really was the best. He was, without a doubt, and if she could snatch him before Gabriella, great. Then she'd have the best in the business as her manager, plus he was a friend, and the icing on the cake would be to see Gabriella's face, when she realized she got to him last._

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

_She checked her watch, she was gonna give him 5 more minutes to open the door, otherwise she was off. She had lots to that day, well she didn't have anything to do, but she would have, if all went well. If mr. B agreed to be her manager, she'd get signed with his record label. If he refused, which she suspected, that he would, when she'd told him everything, then hopefully he'd still sign her. She could only hope._

_She sat down on mr. B's porch and stared up at the beautiful sky, letting her mind wandered, while she waited for her 'manager' to get the door. She missed Troy so much, but she'd done the right thing, she'd just done it too late, and that's why, she was where she was. She had tried to turn it around and blame it on Gabriella, which was stupid, because it clearly wasn't her fault, but on the other hand was she supposed to just take all the crap, that Gabriella was giving her? No, she stood up for herself, which was expected. Moving on from both Gabriella and Troy was gonna be tough, but she knew she was capable of doing so. She missed Gabriella so much, though, it was unbelievable, it hurt so much, and of course she missed Troy as well, but those four months she had with him, could never beat the 15 years, she and Gabs were best friends. But she was gonna be alright, she had to be._

_Sharpay was torn away from her thought, when the door was opened by mr. B, who actually managed to smile at her. It was nice to finally see that again, he seemed to feel much better about the death of his wife, it was still sad of course, but he seemed more ok with being without her now, and it didn't look like the news of The Sweetheart had gotten to him yet. Sharpay was gonna burst his happy bubble._

_"Hey Sharpay." Mr. B greeted with a huge smile from ear to ear, it was like he could stop smiling, and then Sharpay could help but smile herself. "What are you doing here this early?"_

_He motioned for her to come inside, and as she walked in, she said; "I have some very important news, and I also have to ask you a favor. If I live that long."_

_Mr. B shot her a confused look, when she added the last part, as he closed the door behind them. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, getting a little concerned, but he still seemed happy. "What's the matter?"_

_They'd just arrived into the livingroom, and mr. B nodded his head at one of the chairs, indicating that Sharpay should sit down. She smiled at him, and did so. She folded her hands, and she kept on smiling, hoping that when she told him it all, it'd lessen the blow a little bit. One could hope._

_She was about to dig hole into her story, but just as she had opened her mouth, mr. B bounced out of the livingroom, and 5 minutes later Sharpay could hear noises from the kitchen. She guessed, he was making tea, because he knew Sharpay hated coffee and loved tea._

_Sharpay noticed a sheet of paper lying on the coffee table, she was very curious to see what it was, and she had never been able to help herself, when it came to snooping, so she picked up the piece of paper and scanned it through. It looked like a song to Sharpay, and oh it was so beautiful. It was titled '100 Different Ways'. She read the very last line, and she completely lost her breath for 5 seconds; 'Written by Troy Bolton'. What had he done to her? Just the mention of his name made her heart go wild. This song was gorgeous, she had to have it. She had to, she knew it would be wrong, but she had to. "Troy's song, that he gave to Sharpay." She said, as she neatly folded the sheet of paper together, and stuffed it in her long, black boots. She hadn't brought a bag with her that day._

_2 minutes later, mr. B came back into the livingroom with two cups of tea, Sharpay had been right. Mr. B handed her a cup, and sat down on the couch with the other, he took a sip of his tea and looked at Sharpay, anticipating her news, which could only be bad. She had that 'if I live that long' after all._

_Sharpay knew, what it had come to now, she knew she had to tell. She'd come to his house, she'd brought up, that she needed to talk to him, and now she was sitting in a chair, in his home with a cup of tea, with him sitting right in front of her. There was no turning back, it was now._

_"You see, mr. B, the thing is..." She began, as calm and steady as she could, but it was hard. She took a sip of her tea, before continuing. "The Sweethearts have broken up, we're no more. I know, what this means for you, you've lost your biggest source of income, but you still have a lot of other talented artists at your hand, that can keep you up and going. That's not the thing though.." She paused to see, if mr. B was with her, and it seemed like it. "The thing is, that your son and I had an affair behind Gabriella's back, and I felt so guilty, that I had to tell her, and we got into this fight, and we're no more. It's all my fault, and I deserved the things Gabriella said, I shouldn't even have tried to defend myself. You shouldn't be mad at your son, because it's all my fault, he was vulnerable, and I should have said stop and comforted him as a friend instead, but it was hard, he said he needed me, and I couldn't deny him. He'd just lost his mom after all. It's over though, with both Troy and Gabriella, and I'm sorry for ruining everything, I'm responsible for everything. I hope you can forgive me."_

_She'd been looking down at her lap, while saying most of it, and now she looked up, and she catched mr. B's eyes, to try and read them, to see if he was mad, but she couldn't tell. It was almost like he was blank, or he was in too much shock to speak. Kinda like Ross, when Rachel told him, she was pregnant with his child. Sharpay had to fight to hold in a giggle, this was a serious matter, where you shouldn't laugh._

_"Uh..." Mr. B cleared his throat, he wanted to try speaking, maybe that would take some of the shock away. He was surprised, and at the same time he wasn't. "I don't know what to say. I really don't, but I'm gonna try. You've said it's your fault a bunch of times, but it's not, you all share part of the blame, even Gabriella who's the 'victim' in all of this. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I'm disappointed in you, there's no doubt, but that you take responsibility for your actions, makes me wanna forgive you. So you're forgiven." He paused, and couldn't help but smile, when he saw, that Sharpay looked a lot happier than when she came. "As for Troy, I'm beyond mad. I know, you said I shouldn't be, but I raised him, and that he'd do something like that, is just a slap in the face. But if he takes responsibility, like you did, I might forgive him." He paused again, and saw Sharpay nodding a long to what he said, meaning that she understood. There was one thing, they hadn't covered though. "What's the favor, you wanted to ask?"_

_Sharpay smiled to herself in relief, she wanted to hug mr. B for forgiving her, but she felt it would be best to wait, to see if he'd say yes to the favor. "I wanted to know, because I wanna start a solo carreer, if you wanna be my manager, still?" She asked, hoping with all her heart, that he'd say yes. "Please?"_

_"Of course!" Mr. B replied, his eyes shining. He was getting back in the game as manager, he realized he'd taken a break, that was too long, but he felt ready to get back, and Sharpay asking was a chance to do so. "One Sweetheart is better than none, after all. We'll work it all out later."_

_Sharpay stayed with mr. B for the rest of the day, and they'd had fun, it was nice to see mr. B happy again. They chatted, drank tea and whatever. Their lovely day was only interrupted once, when Troy came by and got into a fit with his father, Sharpay did her best to ignore him, and by the time Troy stormed out, mr. B had decided to cut contact, but he wasn't marked by it at all. He seemed just as happy, as when they'd settled their deal._

_**End of flashback**_

She was glad it went that way. It would have been horrible, being on the road without mr. B.

"Are you done soon?" She hissed at Kelsi, she had sat there for half an hour, getting her hair done, and she was getting more and more annoyed by each minute.

"Soon." Kelsi just said, getting Sharpay even more annoyed, and mr. B just laughed at whole thing. "It would be even sooner, if you stopped bitching."

"UGH!" Sharpay screamed, if this didn't stop soon, she have another breakdown, and she'd had enough of those in her days.

"So, Sharpay. Are you excited about tomorrow? The festival and everything?" Mr. B asked, he had something to tell her, but he wanted to wait after the concert, because then she knew, she'd be as happy as ever.

"Yeah, a little bit." Sharpay said, truth was she had no idea. "I don't know, ask me after the concert. Right now, I'm excited about the concert, because that's what's next, I can't really make my mind up about the festival, so ask me after the concert."

"Are you worried about, what people might say?" Mr. B asked again, concerned. Ever since her breakdown in front of the press a couple of months after The Sweethearts' split, she had never been too eager to get back to her hometown and perform, she was afraid they hated her.

"I screwed my best friend's boyfriend, what do you think?" She snapped at him, the closer the festival came, the more on edge she became. She had said in an interview, that she was looking forward to get back to her hometown, it was a little true, but she dreaded it more.

"You're done now." Kelsi announced and handed the blonde chick a mirror, it really did look better than before, so maybe it wasn't so bad being stuck for so long in the chair. It was good timing too, because she had to get on stage in 5 minutes.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably forgotten by now." Mr. B tried, though he knew she wouldn't take it, he knew she'd been around a breakdown, if it hadn't been for the concert in 5 minutes.

They all clearly remembered the time, she broke down and gave the press, what they'd been searching for, for so long. The reason for The Sweethearts' split. She didn't mean to, they were just asking so many damn questions, and she couldn't take it, so she broke down and accidently told them.

_**Flashback**_

_It had been 3 months since The Sweethearts' split, and Sharpay was now in the studio, writing and recording new songs. Right now, they were taking a break, mr. B had some business, he needed to take care of, and Isabel, who Sharpay had been recording with ever since, she became a solo artist, used the same excuse. Sharpay convinced, that they were having an affair, there was no fooling her. She also thought, it was about time, it was 7 months since mr. B's wife had passed away, so it was good, he was getting back in the game._

_While they were off doing business, Sharpay sat on the floor in the recording studio and wrote a song, she used Troy as her inspiration, she had a hard time getting him out of her head, she had even proposed his song '100 Different Ways' to be on her album, but the songs had already been decided, so she saved it for her second album. Yeah, she was already working on stuff for her sophomore album, because she felt that right after 'Headstrong', her debut album, hit the shelves, she'd give her fans a couple of months to get used to the songs, then she'd tour and introduce them to a couple of new songs, so they'd get a taste of what was to come. She was a hard worker, and without Gabriella she worked even harder._

_She scribbled down the title of the song 'Forever and a night', she closed her eyes and thought about Troy, and the lyrics just came to her. She wrote her ass off, untill mr. B and Isabel came back, at the same time (wink, wink), from business, and they recorded for a very long time. It was about 10 pm, when Sharpay finally got to go home. She said goodbye to both of them, she even hugged mr. B, they were so close. But a surprise waited for her, when she got outside; dozens of reporters for cheesy gossip magazines, she was never gonna get to her car alive._

_They were asking all kinds of questions.._

_"Was The Sweethearts split a mutual decision?"_

_"Why did The Sweethearts break apart?"_

_"Did you lie about the rumour of you sleeping with Troy?"_

_"Is that reason for you split?"_

_On and on and on, so many questions. Sharpay didn't hear half of them, she just broke down crying. It was too much, the camera clipsing and all the questions, she couldn't take it. She had chosen this life, but there was a limit at how much a girl could take. It wasn't this._

_"I was a backstabbing bitch, who slept with my best friend's boyfriend, and she found out. There you have it, now leave me the fuck alone!!" She screamed, and then she ran and pushed herself through the mob, and got into her car and drove off to her home, as fast as she could._

_**End of flashback**_

When the concert was finished, and Sharpay got off the stage, she was happy to see Taylor backstage, waiting for her. She ran into the black girl's arms and practically hugged the life out of her. She couldn't help it, she was the closest thing she had to a new Gabriella, but still so far from.

"Hey girl." Taylor cheered, as they pulled apart. "Loved the set. You were amazing, I especially loved your new song '100 Different Ways'."

"Thanks." Sharpay smiled, gratefully. She was so happy, that Taylor was here, and that she loved the concert, and she was also glad, that she liked Troy's song. Now she had gotten the concert out of the way, she could honestly say, she looked very much forward to the festival, where she was gonna introduce 'Forever and a night' to all of her fans. "So good to see you, what took you so long?"

Taylor had on her goofy smile, which could only mean one thing. "I was with my new boyfriend, he's so great. I brought him, I hope that's ok?"

Sharpay pulled Taylor in for another hug, she was so happy for her. Taylor deserved the best of the best, without one single doubt. She couldn't wait to meet him.

"Of course, I can't wait to meet him." Sharpay said, overly excited. "Come on, tell me about him. I want details. Oh, and where is he?"

She took a hold of Taylor's and dragged her over to couch, as mr. B had occupied her chair, and it looked like Kelsi had gone home, but that was okay, she wouldn't need her for the rest of the day. They sat down, and Sharpay sent her friend a huge smile, waiting for all the details. If she would get any, Taylor was a very private person, when it came to boyfriends.

"His name is Chad Danforth, he's a very talented basketball player, and he just got into the song-writing business, so he really wanted to meet you, get some advise. He thinks, you're a talented song-writer." Taylor told her, and all the while she couldn't hide a cute smile. It was nice to see her like this. "He's 20 years old, so he's a little older than me, but it's ok, cos it's not so much. We have a lot in common, though he's not into science as me, but he listens and that's great. He has a 'fro, and it's awesome. That's all I really wanna tell you. Oh, and he's in the bathroom."

Well, at least she got some information, and that was great. They talked about this and that, while waiting for Chad to return from the bathroom. He sure took his time, in Sharpay's opinion. Just when she was about to tell Taylor about her new songs, a guy with a big afro entered the room, and Sharpay immediately identified him as Chad. She smiled, as Taylor quickly got up from the couch and gave him a kiss. Sharpay also got up, it would be more polite, and she anticipated an introduction coming.

Taylor beamed brighter than the sun, when she introduced them. Sharpay knew right then and there, that they were meant to be. "Sharpay, Chad. Chad, Sharpay."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Chad said, shaking Sharpay's hand, looking just as happy as Taylor. "Taylor has told me so much about you."

"Hi, nice to meet you, too." Sharpay said, smiling, she really liked this guy. She let go of his hand, and winked at Taylor, to let her know, that she approved.

After they'd shook hands and said their hello's, they back down on couch. Where they talked about a lot of different stuff, and Sharpay really liked Chad, he definitely was a keeper for Taylor, meant to be, and she adviced Chad about song-writing. It was great, and they were having fun, untill mr. B interrupted and dragged Sharpay outside.

"I have something I need to tell you." He explained his purpose for dragging her out.

"Ok, so what is it?" She asked, eager to get back inside and hang more with Taylor and Chad, the couple of the year.

"I've been holding something back from you, about the festival." Mr. B revealed, and Sharpay sent him a confused look. "You know, I own a huge chunk of the festival, right? And I help decide who's gonna perform there, but there's one I didn't help decide. I've known about it, since it was decided though, I just didn't tell you, because I didn't wanna upset you, but tomorrow is the day, and I don't want you to be surprised the bad way.."

"Yeah?"

"Gabriella is performing at the festival. First she was set to perform before you, but we've done a last minute change, so you'll go on first." He said, hoping that Sharpay wouldn't have an outburst. "You'll have limited contact with her, I swear."

Oh my God, this was so not happening, scratch looking forward to the concert and back to dreading it.

_From Stessa:__ Thank you so much for reading, and please review. We appreciate those, y'know?_

_From AK-tutti:__ I'm thinking of changing my author's name to IamFlemming, but I don't know? Ok, now that that's out of the way, I want to thank you all for still being with us, for still reading, and you'll be much loved, if you review. So please review? Would it help, if I said I'm sick? Cos I am, and a review would really cheer me up, so be good :). Oh, and please give my story 'I'd Rather Be Special' a read, I've recently posted a new chapter._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	15. Chapter 15

From AK-tutti; Hey guys :)

_From AK-tutti;__ Hey guys :). Loved all of the reviews, they were awesome, thanks. I have to comment on one of them, though. Anon, Stessa and I are very aware of the fact, that there were many flashbacks, and it's not something, we need to work on, because it was all on purpose. We did it, so our readers could see a little bit of, what Gabriella, Troy and Sharpay had been doing in the year, they had all been split. If we didn't do it, we'd hear all those 'what happened in that year?' questions. We thought everybody knew that. Anyway, on with the story._

_From Stessa;__ Hola. I knooow we've taken so long with this update. I know, okay? But we've really tried. And my part might be crappy, because I wrote it all in a rush (see, I'm warning you beforehand. I'm just great like that ;p), after Nathalie promised SOMEONE (eyes Bethany) that we would update soon. _

_**Disclaimer;**__ We don't own High School Musical, neither do we own Ashley Tisdale's songs, V's songs, Girls Aloud's song or any other song for that matter, unless we claim them at the end of the chapter. We cool?_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 15.**

The crowd was massive already, when Troy arrived at the festival with his friend, Chad Danforth, and it was only noon. All ages were there, and while they waited for the entertainment, they were doing some of the activities there, like the rollercoasters. There was only 15 minutes 'till the first act would be on stage, which could explain, why so many people were beginning to gather around in the concert area, to get the best spots.

Chad had been complaining ever since, they stepped into the concert area. Troy was only paying half attention to him, because he was determined to get as close to stage, as he could, hoping she would catch a glimpse of him. If that happened, he couldn't wait to see her reaction to him being there. Had she forgotten about him? Or had she moved on? Did she still love him? Questions like that were running through his head.

"This is no fair, Troy. I could be backstage right now." Chad complained, but Troy didn't hear it, the 'fro didn't notice it, though. "And I told you, we should have gotten here much earlier, if we wanted to get some good spots, there is no way, we'll be able to push ourselves through all these people and be right in front of stage. People are going mad, because The Sweethearts are finally back in town, separately of course, but still."

At the mention of 'The Sweethearts', Troy finally paid attention, while he kept on pushing through the crowd to get to stage. Any chance to hear about her or anything, that had to do with her, he was there. He had never been able to forget about her, and he had never had the chance either, she was always in the papers and magazines, so he had never really had the chance.

"What did you say?" Troy asked, making Chad look all confused, which was quite common, and he was rambling all the time, so he had probably forgotten, what he'd said. So Troy always had to elaborate. "About The Sweethearts, what did you say?"

Chad scratched the back of his head, what had he said about The Sweethearts? "Something about them being back into town?" He guessed, as he said it, and it sounded right, so he took it from there. "Separately, like you've probably guessed, but people are going mental over it, anyways. Could have been backstage with one of them, y'know, instead of pushing through these crowds with you. And you know what else? I'm writing a song with one of them, it's called 'I Depend On You', it's a ballad, which is normally not my type of songs, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. Did I mention, I could be backstage right now?"

By the time Chad had said that, they had gotten quite close to stage, as close as they could get, because the people in front of them could not be pushed through, and Chad was now bouncing. Troy guessed he had gotten hyper from all the rambling.

"Chad, calm down." Troy said, trying to keep his friend on the ground. It was no use, Chad kept on bouncing and bouncing, as he reminded Troy of a certain girl. A girl he couldn't get close enough to, because of those stupid people in front of them, the one's he'd turned all his hate onto, if they could just get the hell out of his way.

Still bouncing, Chad kept mumbling something, that sounded like 'I could be backstage, I could be backstage'. Troy glanced at his watch, eight minutes until the first act would be on stage, eight minutes he'd have to listen to Chad. Eight minutes! And if he could be backstage, why wasn't he backstage, instead of wasting his time with Troy?

Troy gave up on getting closer to the stage, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to see her from there, cos he would. She wouldn't be able to see him though, but that didn't matter, as long as he could get a glimpse of her, he'd be fine. He was positive, that they were soul mates, somewhere deep down he just knew, but he had let her slide, and he could never be with her, because of the mess they had made, so maybe if could catch a glimpse of her, he'd get closure? If not he'd have to become a monk, because there'd be no other.

He looked over at his best friend, who seemed to have calmed down, he was no longer bouncing and everything, but he was still mumbling, that he could have been backstage. So could Troy, if he hadn't screwed everything up, he just wasn't complaining about it like Chad. He was glad that he could at least see the event.

"I could be backstage, I could be backstage, I could be backstage."

That was enough, Troy finally snapped; "If you could be backstage, what the hell are you doing here with me then?"

Chad looked stunned by Troy's outburst for a few seconds, but he quickly got over it, and searched his mind for a decent answer to Troy's question, for him at least, he was really upset over something, and Chad didn't know what.

"You called and asked me, if I wanted to go with you to the festival, and I said yes." Chad explained, while scratching his hair, which he often did, when he was nervous. He was glad to see, that Troy seemed to calm down a little by that answer, so he kept going. "It seemed important to you, so that's why I'm here and not backstage. All I'm saying is that I could be backstage, you know me I always complain."

Troy chuckled at his best friend, and slapped his hand away from the 'fro, it didn't look good scratching it like that. Chad looked really offended, and Troy burst into laughter. He honestly didn't get, why the man's hair was so important to him, it looked ridiculous.

The laughing session didn't last long though, because a certain blonde quickly clawed her way back into his mind, bringing a pouty look to his face. This didn't go unnoticed by Chad, even though he was still offended to be slapped, the pout on Troy's face wasn't easy to overlook. And who in their right mind was upset at Albuquerque's annual festival, when the sun was high in the sky, and it was a day filled with great music? Of course Chad knew, that Troy had had a bit of a falling out with his father, who was pretty much in charge of the festival, as he owned a huge part of the festival, but Troy had had falling outs with his father before, and that hadn't stopped him from putting on a happy face and enjoying himself, then again they had never been this huge. Troy hadn't talked to his father in over a year.

"Are you okay?" Chad asked his friend, patting him on the back to let him know, that if he needed anything, Chad was the man.

"Oh yeah.." Troy replied, but Chad could hear the implied 'not really' and gave his friend a stern 'you better tell me' look. "Fine, I'm not really that great. I could be backstage too, if I hadn't messed up, and I could be with the love of my life." Chad stood with his mouth open, looking stupid and clearly not getting any of it, so Troy had to explain it to him once more. "You remember that love triangle I told you about a little over a year ago?"

Chad nodded his head to let Troy know, that he remembered. "Yeah, with Arielle and her best friend, Cheyenne, whom you fell in love with. I totally remember."

Troy smacked his hand on his forehead and shook his head at his friend, Chad clearly didn't remember. "I don't think you do." Troy said, and decided to, even though it was painful, tell the story again, at least small bits of it. "My dad was the manager of The Sweethearts, and after an award night, a big party was held at our house, where I first met Gabriella and later Sharpay. I then developed a romantic relationship with Gabby, and it was great, I really loved her. But my mom passed away at a time, when Gabriella was in Mexico, and I turned to Shar for comfort, and I think you know, what I mean." Troy sighed, but continued. "I didn't wanna hurt Gabby, and neither did Shar, so we kept it a secret, and it was only supposed to be a one time thing, but we couldn't stop. We were drawn to each other. Then one day Sharpay decided to end it, because we were doing, what we refused to do, by doing what we did, and she told Gabby about it. You can guess the rest, right?"

"You were talking about The Sweethearts back then?" Chad questioned, and it seemed like a big light went on inside his head. "Why didn't you tell me? Ok, you did, but you know me, I don't listen so well." He pointed at his ear to indicate the not listening so well, and his shaggy haired friend just shook his head. "So you fell in love with Sharpay? Does she have anything to do with, why you're here today?"

Troy glanced down at his feet, and looked back up at his friend, who awaited his answer. He took a deep breath and replied; "I just want to catch a glimpse of her, even if it's from the audience, it doesn't matter. I just wanna see her face."

--

"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" Sharpay kept screaming, as she ran out of her 'tentrobe' (as she called it) and towards Mr. B, who was at the stage, making sure everything went as it was supposed to, and everybody knew when they were on, it was necessary after the last minute changes in the program. When he was in sight, Sharpay sped up and kept screaming. "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!"

She paced across the lawn to get to Mr. B, she fell in the process and landed on her bum, leaving a large, green grass spot on her white skirt. She didn't take notice, though, she was too excited and worked up to. She got up immediately and proceeded her run to her manager. When she finally reached him by the stage, she had lost her breath, but managed to choke out; "Oh my God!"

Mr. B turned around and smiled at Sharpay, who had bent forward with a hand on her heart, heaving for air. All the dance routines she did, when she performed, and then she lost her breath, when she ran across the lawn. He couldn't wait for her to perform in front of her hometown, she was gonna perform eight songs like all the other acts, her four hit singles, and then she was gonna introduce four brand new songs to the crowd. She had given everybody a sneak peak of one of them the other night.

He had just sent the first act on stage, it was a band called Nylon, and they were performing their first song. He glanced down at his program sheets, Sharpay was the fifth act, and she had to wait almost two hours to get on stage. Nylon was the first act, then came Carrie Underwood, then Kate Voegele, then Marié Digby, followed by Sharpay Evans, Jesse McCartney, Gabriella Montez, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and with Leona Lewis closing the show.

He looked up from his papers and saw, that Sharpay finally stood up and had caught her breath, so he decided to get to the point; "What's up, Shar? Why were you screaming?"

"Le, Le.. Le.. Leona.. Leona Lew... Lew.. Lewis.." Sharpay stuttered, obviously getting all excited and worked up again, and started shrieking again. "LEONA LEWIS, COMING HERE! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!"

"Sharpay, relax. Calm down!" Mr. B said with a raised voice to be heard over the music, followed by a chuckle. He had to place his hands on her shoulders, so she wouldn't bounce off to God knows where, she was really over geared, but it was nothing new. She got like this exactly, when she found out, that Carrie Underwood was performing at the festival, then came Jesse, Justin and all the others, except for Nylon - she didn't know who they were. And she wasn't too thrilled about Gabriella, but that was for personal reasons, she secretly enjoyed Gabriella's music, and she was proud of her, she had confided that in Mr. B.

"I will not calm down!" Sharpay yelled in a high-pitched voice, one that would do Gabriella great justice, so Mr. B had to let go of Sharpay's shoulders to cover his ears, he didn't wanna lose his hearing. And of course miss Evans started bouncing, as soon as he had let go. "I don't think, you understand, Mr. B! Leona Lewis!"

He squinted his eyes together to focus on her lips, he was good at reading them, and when they stopped moving, he found it safe to uncover his ears. Now all he had to do was to make sure, Sharpay stopped bouncing before she had to get on stage. She was no good like that, all hyper and out of breath. Entertaining, yes, but vocally at a low. A good way to calm her down, was probably to talk her trough this.

"I know who Leona Lewis is, Sharpay. If I didn't, do you think I would have booked her for the festival?" Mr. B began, but was cut off by Sharpay, who was getting more worked up by this piece of information.

"You booked her?" She shrieked with disbelief in her voice, she couldn't believe it. "You knew, she was coming and you didn't tell me? Why would you keep things like that from me? That's just mean. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" She paused to get some air, and then she pointed an accusing finger at Mr. B. "You ruined my skirt! Yes, you did. You ruined it, and I was gonna wear it for the show, and now I gotta like change, and I don't even have a backup outfit ready, and it takes hours to find a new one, and I don't have hours, so no way I'm gonna make it in time. You little, you jinxed us all by not telling me, you shot me in the foot. YOU! You un-Leona Lewis telling, Sharpay sabotaging, skirt ruining, will not let me meet Justin, idiotic manager!" She paused to catch her breath again. "What were we talking about?"

Honestly, Mr. B loved Sharpay like she was his daughter, and he was glad her still had her as a 'client', but at times like this when she had these weird outbursts, it would have been nice to still have Gabriella. Not that he minded them, it wasn't that, he found them funny and everything, but sometimes it got really tiring, and he couldn't bear as much as he used to, ever since Lucille's death. He had moved on, and he was happy, it just didn't change the fact, that his wife had passed away.

He was about to open his mouth and speak, but Sharpay beat him to the punch. "Okay, so you won't let me meet Justin, because I don't know why.. Anyway, can I at least meet Jesse?" Same procedure as before, he was about to say something, and she came before him. "Oh! And Leona! And Taylor! Oh, and Carrie, I gotta meet Carrie. And..."

"You can meet one of them!" Mr. B said, firmly. He held up his index finger to make a point, and when Sharpay opened her mouth to object, he cut her off. "I said, one!"

"Fine!" Sharpay snarled, crossed her arms and pretended to be mad. It didn't last long, though, she quickly cracked a smile, and she was too excited not to. She had been bothering, and bothering, and bothering Mr. B about meeting almost every single one of the festival's acts, and he finally gave in and let her meet one, now all she had to do was choose, carefully. She jumped on him and hugged him for dear life, she was that grateful. "THANK YOU!"

"You're welcome." Mr. B managed to get out, while she was clinging on to him, and when she finally crawled down from him, he took in a deep breath, as if it was gonna be his very last. "Now go back to your tent and get ready!"

She began walking back to her 'tentrobe', mumbling things such as 'unfair', 'ruined my skirt', 'I'm being sabotaged', and other things nobody could make out, and then she stopped, when an idea struck her. Why not make the skirt look like, it was supposed to have that grass spot on it, by also making one on the front.

Sharpay stripped out of her skirt in the middle of the lawn, revealing a pink pair of panties, and dragged it across it all the way back to her tentrobe. She was so gonna work the grassy look.

--

It was the fifth time, she had glanced out of her tent to see, if she could spot a certain person. Gabriella didn't wanna admit it, but she secretly hoped she'd run into Sharpay. It was kinda weird, considering what her former best friend had done, slept with Troy, while they were going out, and then she lied to her about it for months, Gabriella had even asked her straight out, if she was fooling around with Troy, and she had said no. Gabriella had been stupid enough to believe it, and why wouldn't she? They were best friends, they were supposed to trust each other, and Sharpay had broken that. They had been best friends for 15 years, and Sharpay had walked all over their friendship, and that was the main reason, Gabriella was mad at her, after so many years of friendship, you weren't supposed to do that. You weren't supposed to be able to. That was why, she was mad, she wasn't even mad, that Sharpay had slept with Troy anymore, she was past that, but fact that Sharpay had been able to do such a thing just ticked her off. That was why, she was holding an eye out for her, because she hoped and believed, that if she caught a glimpse of her old friend, it would be closure, and she'd finally be able to move fully on and forget about her.

"If you keep looking for the rain, it's gonna fall." She sang softly to herself, just as Cole walked up behind her and put his arms around his petite girlfriend, she turned her head to look at him and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi." He smiled back and kissed her forehead, he let go of her and sat down in the chair next to her with perfect view of the outside, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it to let her know, that he was there for her. He knew, she dreaded this day, and he was gonna help her get through it. "You nervous?" She nodded. "Don't be. She said, you wouldn't make it, but you did. She said, you were too afraid, but you overcame your fears. All of your singles have charted in top three, and that's higher than anybody ever expected, because you were just a girl band member, and most of them never make it, but you did. You got a number one album as well, and I'm sure she never expected that to happen. You proved her wrong, you shouldn't be nervous."

She began sobbing, the fact that her old best friend hadn't believed in her still cut her deep. She spoke through her tears; "But she charted higher than me, her album was number one longer than mine was."

"This has never been a competition, Gabs." Cole said, as he used his hands to dry away her tears. "This was about proving yourself, that's why you embarked on a solo career, and you succeeded. Screw it, that she's charted higher than you, you're still just as popular, and you get to do, what you love. And that's all that really matters, isn't it?"

"You should be paid to date me." Gabriella giggled through her tears. Having Cole there with her made her feel so content and happy, she couldn't find enough wonderful words to describe him, and he always made her feel better. She loved him. He made a sound, kinda like 'aw, c'mon, no', one of them. "You should.. You're a great talker, better than my old shrink, you should get paid."

He knew, she was joking, and he was glad actually. She didn't joke much these days, it was like Sharpay had been her inspiration to do that, but he wouldn't know, she was before his time. Gabriella had told him everything about her though, about all the fun they used to have, so he'd guessed his way to the rest. So when she joked, he felt happy, because it felt like she was getting more and more Gabby, and he loved her, every little part of her. Her personality, her looks, her singing voice, everything. Even the little things, he loved, the things most people wouldn't notice. Her coffee obsession, the squeaky little noise she could perform, whenever she spotted a spider, her philosophy that the salt and pepper shaker should never ever stand next to each, or it would unleash the wrath of the woodnymphs. He had laughed, when he learned this, and apparently it was something Sharpay had convinced her of, when they were very little, and it had stuck with Gabriella ever since. How she enjoyed eating popcorn, while watching ant wars on the TV, and that she loved to experiment with the popcorn, putting different things on them. Every little thing about her, even her habit of squeezing his nose in her sleep, if that didn't happen, he wouldn't be able to sleep properly.

"You're gonna do great today, they're gonna love you." He changed the subject, giving her a secret little pep talk, even though there was a long time 'till she was gonna perform, but she needed it, and when Sharpay wasn't there to do it anymore, he had to step in. He even did a much better job, Gabriella thought so at least, because when he pep talked her, she never walked on stage with the fear of being embarrassed, which could easily happen back in the days around Sharpay.

"I hope so." Gabriella sighed, this wasn't easy. It was her first time back in Albuquerque performing without Sharpay, and even though she had convinced herself, that bad things would happen with Sharpay around, she couldn't help but miss her. "It's just hard. I feel happy and empty on the same time, it's weird." She paused and glanced out of the tent for a few seconds, and then went back to her conversation with Cole. "I'm happy that I'm here, and that I've made it, and these are my songs, that I'm gonna perform. And then I feel empty, like a piece of me is missing. She was a part of my life for so long, Cole, and I loved being a part of The Sweethearts and everything we did, and sometimes when I'm on stage, I feel like she should be standing next to me, and when I realize she's not, I feel so empty."

Cole wrapped his strong arms around his girlfriend and hugged her tight, she needed it. She was happy, and at the same time she wasn't, he could at least comfort himself with the fact, that she was more happy than she was sad, and that was something. He stroked her hair, and he could hear her let out a squeaky little laugh, and he knew that laugh, she thought she was being ridiculous, which she totally wasn't.

He let go of her, and then he used his thumbs to wipe away the tears, there were surfacing. She shouldn't be crying, it was a big day for her, and he wouldn't let her be sad, so he got up from his chair and offered her his hand, which she took and sent him a confused look. He headed towards the opening of the tent, they were gonna walk around outside a bit, listening to the music, he knew how she loved both nature and music, so it seemed like the thing to do, and Gabriella didn't object or anything.

--

Sharpay was nervously pacing back and forth in her tentrobe, she couldn't take the wait, she was ready to get on stage and sing her heart out to her hometown. She dreaded performing her new songs, because what were people gonna think? Not that she normally cared, but these songs really mattered to her. 100 Different Ways, Forever and a Night, all of them.

She decided some fresh air would do her good, so she went outside and walked around for a bit, looking at all the different rides, booths and stuff, or that was her cover! She was really looking for the tents, that belonged to all of the artists, she could only meet one of. She had worked on her excuse; eight is one plus seven. And that was the truth.

She stopped in her tracks, when she felt a summer-y breeze. She closed her eyes and let the wind caress her arms, and her mind went off into dream world, the one _he_ always visited. She had written Forever and a Night for him, she had 'stolen' 100 Different Ways from him and rewritten it a little bit, but she had come to hate him, even though she loved him oh so much.

Over a year back, she had taken the blame for everything, Mr. B wouldn't let her, and she finally accepted it wasn't her fault entirely. It was only her fault for not stopping him, and for not telling her best friend right away, her best friend whom she lost because of that guy, and that's why she hated him. As much as she hated him, she still loved him, she couldn't run from that, but her love for him would never come close to the love, she had for her then best friend. They had been best friends after all. She was slowly learning not to miss either one of them, so Gabriella being there today, shouldn't do anything to her.

She felt a tap on her back, and she was pulled out of her thoughts, and she was kinda glad, she didn't wanna think about these things. She turned around and faced a girl in her early teens with The Sweethearts on her white t-shirt, and The Sweethearts' debut album, The Sweethearts' Christmas album, Gabriella's debut solo album and Sharpay's own in her hands, she also had a pink cap with a white text that read The Sweethearts, her dark hair hanging out of the hole in the back. She could only be a fan.

"Hi." Sharpay greeted the fan with a smile. She really loved her fans, it was because of them, she was where she is today, and for that she was grateful. She also saw her fans as friends, so she was always nice to them, and it looked like this girl had been a fan from the very beginning.

"Oh my God!! Sharpay Evans, I can't believe I'm talking to Sharpay Evans!!" The fan pitched out, and it sounded all shriek-y. She was really worked up, much like Sharpay had been earlier, so she couldn't help but chuckle. "My name is Checotah Bunton, I'm your biggest fan!"

"I love your name, Checotah." Sharpay complimented with this soft voice, she always spoke in a soft voice to her fans, because she loved them so. "You know, I met my biggest fan last night, and I believe I've met like eight greatest fans this week alone. But it's okay, you're my biggest fan today." She giggled slightly, before getting to the point. "What do you want, Checotah?"

Checotah tripped nervously, she had done the crazy, biggest fan thing a bunch of times to other artists, she liked, but their bodyguards had always dragged her away, and now her idol, along with Gabriella Montez, was actually speaking calmly to her, and she had never experienced having to talk to a singer before.

"I, I, I uhm... I just, uh.. I just want.. wanted to, uhm.. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Checotah stuttered to get out, she was all nervous and a little sweaty, it was kinda embarrassing in front of her idol.

Sharpay's eyes grew big, she was completely stunned. "Is today my birthday?" She wondered out loud, she had totally forgotten, she had been too busy to keep track of the days.

"If your birthday is the 19th of august, then yeah." Checotah replied, who was a lot more calm after having gotten the very first sentence out of the way. Sharpay gulped, she couldn't believe, she had forgotten her own birthday, but she nodded slightly to let her fan know, that today was her birthday. Checotah let out an excited scream and jumped on Sharpay, giving her a tight hug. "Congratulations on your 19th birthday."

"Uh thanks, I guess." She said, as Checotah let go of her. She found it depressing, that no-one had remembered her birthday, not even herself. But wait a minute? Mr. B had refused to let her meet any of the acts today for a very long time, and then today of all days he agrees to let her meet one? Birthday present? She thought so. "You're actually the first one to wish me happy birthday today, so thanks."

Checotah did a funny little bounce, and Sharpay guessed it had to be from the excitement of meeting her idol, it made people do crazy thing, she was a living proof of that. Her fan was clearly also happy to be the first to wish her happy birthday, something she could brag about to her friends or just keep as a memory, perhaps.

"There's one more thing?" Checotah asked, cheerfully. Sharpay was amazed with how much, Checotah was beaming, that she'd do just about anything for her, she was a fan after all. Sharpay motioned with her one hand for Checotah to go on, and she did, handing the albums, except for Gabby's, to Sharpay. "Will you please sign them? It would mean so much."

"Sure." Sharpay gladly accepted the albums from Checotah, she signed her autograph upon herself in each one of them, and when she looked up and was about to hand them back to the fan, she saw that the eyes on her had grown big. Not wonder big, not surprised big, not disgusted big, but greedy big, like when there's something you really want in, like say a store, and then you spot it, your eyes grow big, because it's your deepest wish to get that thing. _That_ kinda big. Sharpay was a little worried with Checotah just standing there. "Are you okay, Checotah?"

That seemed to snap her out of it, and she started bouncing up and down, screaming; "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! It's Gabriella Montez! Gabriella Montez is here. OH MY GOD, GABRIELLA MONTEZ OVER HERE! OH MY GOD!"

No way fate would let that happen, Sharpay thought to herself, but she still looked back over her shoulder, and to her surprise there stood Gabriella, her ex-best friend. Sharpay had known she was gonna be there, but she had thought avoiding her would be a piece of cake. Clearly not, though. In Sharpay's mind they were still best friends, even though they weren't friends, but she couldn't help it, she missed her so much, even if she didn't wanna admit it. All she had wanted to do was be strong and think about herself, and now Gabriella stood in her eyesight, Sharpay wasn't so strong, as she was let to believe.

Please don't come over, please don't. See that it's me, and refuse. Please? Sharpay begged in her mind, she wasn't yet over everything, at least not over her former best friend, and she didn't wanna see her. She didn't.

"YAY, she coming over here!" Checotah cheered, tearing Sharpay out of her thoughts once more, was this going to be a habit?

Sharpay looked over her shoulder again, and Gabriella was walking towards them, hands linked with a good looking fella. She looked back at Checotah, tempted to leave, but she voted against it, because she didn't wanna hurt a fan's feelings. She'd just have to live with being so close to Gabriella and be happy for Checotah, who'd soon have met both her idols. She deserved it, she was a nice girl.

Gabriella took one step at a time towards the brunette girl and the blonde, whom she hadn't yet discovered to be Sharpay Evans, she had her small hand in Cole's bigger one, and he squeezed it tight to let her know, everything was gonna be okay. He knew how nervous she was about everything after all.

"It's gonna be okay, honey." He said, offering her a cute smile. "It's just a fan, which means she loves you, and you have nothing to worry about. I'm here."

"Thanks, Cole." Gabriella was smiling too, an appreciative one. "You're always here for me, you're the best." She paused, also in her tracks. "But don't you think the blonde had eyes just like Sharpay's?"

"No, they didn't. They looked nothing like Sharpay's." Cole assured her, but he was lying. He knew they were headed towards Sharpay, when they proceeded their walk towards the two girls. He'd tried to keep Gabriella from looking in that direction, because he had spotted Sharpay, and he knew seeing her would upset Gabriella. When the brunette hollered at Gabriella, he changed his mind, and decided it would be a good idea, if she and Sharpay finally met and got to talk a little, maybe clear some things now.

"Good, cos I really don't wanna meet Sharpay." Gabriella announced to Cole, just as they'd reached the two girls. The brunette jumped on her and gave her a big hug, when she jumped off her, the blonde turned around, arms crossed with a frown on her face. It was Sharpay, and Gabriella gasped in surprise.

"I really don't wanna meet you either." Sharpay shot back, anger in her voice. She couldn't believe Gabriella, if she didn't wanna see her, why had she come over there? She didn't get it, it was completely idiotic.

Checotah took no notice of the hostile tension between the two Sweethearts, she was just excited about having met both of them. She did almost the same as before and shoved all the albums, except for Sharpay's, in the arms of Gabriella, much to her surprise, since she hadn't expected it, and said; "Please sign them?" As Gabriella signed the albums, she wasn't one to refuse something like that, Checotah got another idea. "Oh my God, I'm so gonna take a picture of this. The Sweethearts back together after a year and three months." She said all of the sudden, and with a voice that made Sharpay so startled, she jumped up in the air. "You wait here, while I go get my camera."

"Lovely person." Gabriella acknowledged, when she'd signed the albums, the irony heavy in her voice.

"Ya think?" Sharpay replied just the same. Checotah was a little too hyper and a little too starstruck in her taste, but she was still a fan, so they both felt obligated to be nice to her, and at some point they loved all of their fans. They still had conversations about them, though, at the end of the day, they used to discuss the crazy fans they met, and some of it seemed to be still there. It wasn't the end of the day, they weren't together as a band, but it was still there.

Suddenly Taylor was at the scenery, and they hadn't even seen her approach, but she must have seen the two together and got nosy. Taylor was a very nosy girl, but she surprised the both of them.

"Excuse me, sir?" She said to Cole and completely pretended, that Sharpay and Gabriella weren't there. He walked over to her and smiled politely. "We're gonna give them some privacy and a chance to work things out." She whispered to him, so the two girls wouldn't hear her, and then spoke out loud; "You can't be back here, without a backstage pass, but I can see you're with miss Montez, so there must have been some mistake, let's go fix it."

And then the two of them were off, leaving Gabriella and Sharpay to themselves. The situation was awkward, and it was uncomfortable being there, but neither of them had the guts to leave and disappoint their fan, so they both stayed.

There was a long silence between them, and it was unbearable. "So..." Sharpay decided to break it, as she was the one who hated, when things were quiet the most. "How long have you been with..." Sharpay paused and searched for a name, she believed she had seen him before, but she couldn't remember his name, and when she couldn't find it in her mind, she panicked and just blurted something out. "... that thing?"

Gabriella sent Sharpay a very hateful look, the most hateful one to ever access her face. "That thing's name is Cole." She said in a very harsh manner, but she couldn't help it, she just get so upset, she met Cole on the day, she found out about Troy and Sharpay after all.

"Okay." Sharpay just said, she didn't know what else to do. She was so nervous, she shivered, and she hated that kinda shivers, but something in her mind told her to keep going, that talking to Gabriella might actually lead to something, but she didn't know, why that was? "So, how long?"

"We're coming close to a year." Gabriella said in much friendlier way, because talking about Cole would always do that to her, she loved him. "What about you? Seeing anyone?" She decided to ask her ex-friend, Sharpay was nice to her, so she could be nice to her as well. Sharpay gave her a saying look, and she immediately knew what it meant. Maybe they had been apart for over a year, but Gabriella could still read her. "No?"

Sharpay shook her head and confirmed; "No."

Again there was a silence between them, but this time it wasn't as uncomfortable as before, maybe they were heading towards something? Gabriella had thought, if she caught a glimpse of Sharpay at the festival, she would finally get over her and be able to move, but she was wrong. Sharpay had thought, it wouldn't touch her at all and it wouldn't matter, that she was over it all, but she was wrong. The two girls could deny it to everybody else, but they couldn't deny it to themselves: deep, deep down they still loved each other, and was happy for each other's careers and everything.

"By the way, Sharpay?" Gabriella suddenly spoke, and she had gotten Sharpay's attention, cos she looked at her right away. "Happy birthday."

"You remembered?" Sharpay wondered out loud, actually sounding surprised. She hadn't expected Gabriella of all people to remember, but she was glad she had.

Gabriella giggled, this was classic Sharpay, and she replied; "Of course I remembered, I've always remembered." She paused, because she was about to get sentimental, and she could feel their conversation would keep going in that direction. "Sharpay, we became best friends, when were just three years old, and I believe that's because, we were too young to have best friends at age one and two. We were best friends for nearly fifteen years, hadn't that event happened for another four months, we would have been, but the point is we were best friends for fifteen years, and that we haven't been friends for a year doesn't change that fact, and it doesn't make me forget." She sighed, before adding; "I will always remember, Shar."

"I'm so sorry, Gabs." Sharpay said, picking up being sentimental, where Gabriella left off. "For everything, really. It shouldn't even have happened, you were my best friend and I betrayed your trust, and I have felt it everyday since then, and I haven't be able to live with myself. You were my best friend, and I love you, I should have told you about my mistake right away, or no it shouldn't have happened at all." She paused and hated herself for the tears now forming in Gabriella's eyes, afraid she had opened some wounds, that should have been held closed, but she needed to do this. "It shouldn't. I wish I could turn back time, back to the day when Troy's mother died, and I should have stopped him. I should have told him, that I didn't care, if he needed me, that it was wrong of him. I should have cut him off, even if he was in that state and crying, I should have considered your feelings, and when I'd told him off, I should have told you about it first thing, when you came back to Mexico. Sadly, I can't turn back time, but I still should have told you, as soon as you walked through that door." She sighed at herself, she sounded ridiculous. "I know, I'm just listing a bunch of should have's, but I should have. Not a single day goes by, where I don't wish, I could have done differently. I'm sorry for everything I put you through."

"It's okay." Gabriella said, and it was. It was okay, it was over a year ago, and when Sharpay poured it out like that, it really showed how much, she had cared, how much she still cared. She was over her now, but in a completely different way, she was over her for what she'd done, it was the past her now. Troy on the other hand, she wasn't mad at him anymore, but she was still angry with all the hurt, he had caused her, and the pain he'd caused Sharpay. Mostly for what he'd done to Sharpay, because she was with Cole now, and she wasn't hurting anymore, but from what Sharpay had just said, she knew she still was, and that she still felt incredible guilty. Gabriella knew, that by forgiving her, she would take some of it away, and she would be glad to. She still loved Sharpay, and she could forgive her now, she had, and she knew Sharpay still loved her, and she hoped that there would be a future The Sweethearts, and a future for them as maybe best friends again. "I..."

"No, it's not okay!" Sharpay cut her off, because in her mind it couldn't be okay, not after the damage she had done. It just couldn't. "I can't be. Think back on what I did! I ruined The Sweethearts career. We were the biggest thing in music, nobody came close to touching us. We had six no. one singles and a no. one album, and we also had a no. one Christmas single and album, and we could have had a bunch more of that, if I hadn't screwed up, and I..."

"Ssh!" It was Gabriella's turn to interrupt Sharpay, she had to. She knew Sharpay, and she would just keep coming up with reasons for Gabriella to be mad at her. "I never cared about The Sweethearts' success, well I did, but not as much as I cared about you, Shar, you need to know that. We all hold part of the blame, even me, so you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I've forgiven you, and you need to accept that." Sharpay was about to open her mouth and say something, but Gabriella stopped her. "No, don't even think about it! That's the way it is, stop feeling so much guilt, cos you are forgiven. Do you understand me? And if anything, you should feel proud, you got me to where I am today, I owe it all to you. So take it, and be happy."

Sharpay's jaw dropped, she thought Gabriella would hate her forever for what she did, no matter how many times she apologized, but she really had a big heart. She got control of her mouth, and stared at Gabriella, like she was a very difficult math problem. "But..." She tried to object, but this time Gabriella cut her off by throwing her arms around her and hugging her so tight, it felt like she never ever wanted to let go again. Sharpay forgot all about what she was going to say and wrapped her arms around Gabriella as well.

After standing there for 15 minutes, hugging each other, they finally let go of each other, but they didn't go back to their old awkward postures, that involved standing in front of each other, crossing their arms. The stood next to each other, Gabriella an arm around Sharpay's waist, and Sharpay one around Gabriella. Picture ready, they both thought to themselves, because that was the way they always posed together on the red carpet. And they looked just as happy, as when they used to be on the carpet together.

"Friends?" Gabriella offered and asked at the same time, but that's what she really wanted, she just hoped the blonde wanted it as well.

"Besties!" Sharpay triumphed, and they went for another hug, and at that exact moment there was a flash from Checotah's camera, who had just gotten back from getting it, and after she'd taken it, she cheered like crazy. Then Gabriella and Sharpay took off in each a direction, to get ready for both their shows.

--

Hours later, Sharpay was on stage doing her thing. She had performed all of her four singles; Be Good To Me, Not Like That, Unlove You and He Said, She Said. She had also performed two of her new songs; Watch This Girl and A Never, and she was coming to the end of 100 Different Ways, leaving only Forever and a Night to go.

_"A hundred different ways I could say I'm sorry_

_And every other day I try something new_

_I'd write it out in blood, if I thought you change_

_But it's not enough for you"_

She finished off, and now only Forever and a Night was left, but before she went on with it, she decided to speak to the crowd; "I'm coming to the end of my set, you guys have been amazing. I've got one song left, and it's called Forever and a Night, and I'd like to dedicate it to someone." She paused and let the amazing audience cheer. "I'd like to dedicate it to this guy, I once knew and loved. We didn't get our Forever and a Night, but hope all of you will someday."

The crowd cheered again, they were fantastic like that, and she couldn't imagine a better place to be in her life. The only thing that would make being on stage better, was if Gabriella was by her side.

"_I, I never thought I'd be  
Lost inside your eyes  
Living out this fantasy  
But now, with every breath we take  
All I think about  
Is the love we're gonna make_"

Troy could somehow feel, she was talking about him, when she mentioned 'this guy'. He knew, from before they even started their thing, that she didn't have many boyfriends. She always had troubles with them. And he also knew that she had loved him. A lot. It had to be him, didn't it? It only could be…

He didn't know what to do with himself. He could feel his emotions rushing through his body. He could feel Goosebumps rising everywhere. She carried that song so well. He hadn't heard much of it just now, but it was amazing. Her voice was so clear and raw. He could tell, everyone could tell, that she really meant what she was singing.

The song carried on, and she moved around on stage gracefully. She had on a messy white skirt (well, at least it _used_ to be white!), and she flaunted those long dancer legs off, so every girl in the audience would wish she had them. He watched her as she sung, voice floating through the speakers, hair blowing in the wind.

He almost couldn't take it. He wouldn't describe himself as an emotional guy, but he almost couldn't take this. Just the fact that he was actually seeing her again after all these years, and that she was singing a song like that, about them, about _him_… It was almost too much for him to handle.

He had only dreamt of seeing her again for so long. His dream was to speak with her again, to maybe touch her if he was lucky. But there she was, before him, like the angel she always had been. He was actually afraid he was going to tear up. It would be embarrassing like hell, him crying right there, so he would hold it in. Chad was right next to him, mumbling over and over;

"I'm gonna write a song with that girl, I'm gonna write a song with her…"

Troy wasn't quite sure what that meant, and honestly he didn't want to find out. He just listened to the song, and enjoyed this moment so much. He sort of wished he could stop time and just watch her perfect face on the big screen behind her, where, right now, she was singing, letting go of everything inside her.

"_I want you  
For, forever and a night  
(Forever and a night)  
For all of my life  
(All of my life)  
I just wanna hold you tight  
From now on (for)  
Until the morning light  
(Until the morning light)  
All I wanna do  
Is be with you baby  
Forever and a night_"

That was the second time she sung the chorus, and Gabriella couldn't help but bob her head along to the music. She was really great. And that song was great! It seemed like something the two of them could have done together, too. Not that she wanted to steal away Sharpay's music or anything, she was just making an observation.

She really couldn't believe they were friends again after all this time. She had missed Sharpay so much, she couldn't even explain it. And there they were – one crazy fan brought them together. They really owed a lot to that girl now. Gabriella would have to thank her properly sometime.

Gabriella leaned herself slightly forward, to gaze pass Sharpay and at the audience. It didn't even take her a second to see Troy in the crowd. Her eyes just settled on him, as if it hadn't been about a year. He was looking really sad, even if he did a good job trying to hide it. Next to him, someone with a 'fro was bouncing excitingly up and down, even if this song wasn't very bounce-able.

Gabriella chuckled, and promised herself that she would meet him one day. Even if it would be tough, and it would involve Troy, she wanted to meet him. He seemed like a great and funny guy. And she was over Troy, and had Cole, so it shouldn't be awkward at all.

Suddenly a thought hit Gabriella, when Sharpay's voice cracked slightly. She put every piece together. Troy was moved by the song… He even came to this festival? Why? Because he was still in love with Sharpay? And who was Sharpay singing about in this song? Troy, of course!

She pulled her head back and leaned against a wall. How could she be this stupid? Of course those two were still obsessed with each other. Sharpay had never had it easy with guys, and Troy had been _that one_. And maybe Troy had really believed Sharpay was his one as well? If that was the case, then… Then Gabriella had ruined everything for them! She had broken their relationship… She had ripped two people apart. Two people who, without a doubt, where meant to be… Could she really live with herself for that?

She had found her happiness with Cole, so didn't Sharpay, her life long best friend, deserve the same too? And didn't Troy, a guy she had once loved, deserve happiness as well?

She really believed they did.

Sharpay was finishing off her song, and Gabriella could clearly hear in her voice, that she was getting emotional – more so than usual. She peeked through the walls again, and gave Sharpay a once-over. She looked great; she hadn't changed at all. And then she turned her head to Troy, who stood still, watching the stage in awe.

What could she do to make everything okay again? What could she do to correct all her wrongs?

She could call Troy.

--

Sharpay went off stage to let them get ready for Jesse's act, and ran into Gabriella's open arms. She was so emotional right now, but also happy that Gabriella was there to greet her, now when she was done. She believed everything had gone well today, so she was quite proud with herself.

"You did good!" Gabriella cheered, and hugged her tightly, "Awesome! I loved this last song…" she wasn't about to tell Sharpay about her plans of calling Troy – she'd make it as a surprise for her friend. And she was going to get them together. No matter what.

"Thank-you, thank-you very much." Sharpay mimicked and took a funny bow.

Gabriella giggled, and helped Sharpay get off her mike. When it was off, they handed it to the show producer, and linked hands, to get outside, so Sharpay could shake the show off. Now she was free for all those pre-show-nerves, but Gabriella's were just getting worse. Not that she suffered much for them to begin with, but still.

"I want you to meet Cole…" Gabriella told Sharpay, as they both drew in a fresh batch of air.

"Cool!" Sharpay exclaimed. Her face lit up, and she couldn't help but giggle, "That thing?"

"Yes," Gabriella laughed, and dragged Sharpay with her, so they could meet up with Cole, "that thing."

"Why do I feel like I've seen him before?" Sharpay asked, as they quickly crossed the lawn. She didn't know him at all, she couldn't really place his face. Maybe she had just seen him with Gabriella in a magazine or something? Or maybe perhaps just frequently behind her?

Gabriella laughed. And this time, her laugh really was full of joy. She was truly happy, "You've seen him before, silly!" she told Sharpay, love shining through her brown orbs, "We met him when they wanted to make that 'A Year With The Sweethearts' documentary. He was the third camera dude."

"Oh yeah!" Sharpay laughed, as she recalled something about a very cute third camera dude. But she didn't recall speaking to him, "I was busy with something else, was I not?" she wondered aloud.

"Yes." Gabriella said, as a matter-of-factly, "You were making funny faces to a camera…"

"Oh yeah…" Sharpay said, as she finally remembered that day clearly, "Oh, that was a good day." She laughed.

"Anyway…" Gabriella trailed off, and decided to bring up the subject about The Sweethearts and that reunion, "What about The Sweethearts now? Got any ideas?"

Sharpay seemed to ponder about it for a few seconds. Gabriella hoped she would think of something – she was usually the best at that, "I think maybe we will need to have a few performances together. Appearances at different shows, _Regis and Kelly, Good Morning America, _you know? And then… and then we get that CD out. Maybe we will write some new songs, but we will also redo some old ones. We will have to make an announcement and tell the world. And I think we should have Mr. B as our manager. He's still mine, by the way."

Gabriella nodded, as she thought this over. That actually sounded pretty good. It sounded very believable. It could happen, couldn't it? "Alright." She said, "That's fine. Seems like a great idea. We can discuss it more tomorrow, right?"

Sharpay nodded excitingly, but before she managed to really say anything, they met Cole, who was about to pass them. Gabriella grabbed his arm tightly, and he was surprised to see her, so he probably hadn't noticed them. "Hi Gabby!" he quickly said, and gave her a quick kiss, "I couldn't find you, so I…" he paused, when he noticed Sharpay's presence, "Did you guys make up!?"

"Don't seem so surprised, honey!" Gabriella laughed, and wrapped an arm around Sharpay's shoulders to prove to her boyfriend that they really were friends again, "I've missed my girl so much! This is Sharpay by the way… And yeah, Shar, this is Cole. _The third camera dude_." She added, beneath her breath, so only Sharpay could hear her.

"Oh, he's cute!" Sharpay quickly said, and extended her hand to shake Cole's. But before he managed to grab it, Gabriella shot her a saying look, and Sharpay quickly let it fall, "No? Too soon? _Good_." she nodded and took a step back, giving Cole a slight acknowledging nod instead.

Cole laughed, "Aw, come on Gabby, you know I'm not Troy!"

"And he's really not that cute!" Sharpay butted in. She then bit her lip again, and placed a hand on her mouth; realizing she should probably just shut it, and let the two lovebirds talk.

"I know you're not Troy, but I'm just gonna let this sink in…" Gabriella said, and gave them both a stern look, "Do we agree on that?"

"Sure!" Sharpay said; anything to keep her best friend happy. She really had no intensions of sleeping with Cole like she did with Troy. Gabriella should know she was only always joking. Troy was a special case, because normally Sharpay wasn't like that – she would never hurt her friends intentionally.

"Of course, honey." Cole said, and took Gabriella's hand in his; linking their fingers, "But I really think you should get ready. Jesse McCartney must be done soon, and you have to get your mike done and stuff."

"Yeah, you're right." Gabriella said, and gave him a chaste kiss. Then she pulled away, and turned to Sharpay, "You're coming, right? Watching me from the sidelines?"

"Of course." Sharpay said, and shot her a huge, warm smile, "You're my best friend, Gab, I'm here for you!"

The trio then took off, so Gabriella could get ready in time to go on stage. Sharpay couldn't believe she was lucky enough to have Gabriella back in her life, even after what she had done. She would never hurt her friend again. Never.

--

Gabriella was on a groove tonight. She was doing the best she had done for a long time, and she knew it was because she had made up with Sharpay – it really affected her performance, she realized. She was so happy, and she felt like everyone in the audience could see it and feel it. Like it was radiating off of her that now she was _truly_ happy.

She had sung six of her songs, and was now finishing the seventh

"_If I should lose your love boy  
Shame on me  
I was just too stubborn  
Too blind to see  
That I would lose your love, boy  
Just tell me how to get you back  
Cause I could never lose your love  
Don't wanna lose your love_"

She finished and the audience cheered her on. She took a bow and happily laughed into the mike, "Thank you, everyone!" she said, but then she did something, something she had never believed she could do live, but now wanted to more than anything else, "I'd planned out eight songs to sing for you guys tonight, just like everyone else had, but I just… I just got an, if I do say so myself, amazing idea."

She changed the show.

She smiled, "You guys remember 'Halo', right? The Sweethearts' first song… I do. I remember it very well. And the thing is just that… I really want to sing it tonight. So I'm gonna forget all about 'Make You Mine' and do that one instead." She sighed, "I just really don't believe I can do the song justice on my own, so I might as well announce it right now!"

She turned her head to the side, and pointed at Sharpay, "Would you please come in here, Sharpay?"

Sharpay shook her head.

"Come on in here, silly!" Gabriella continued on.

Cole gave Sharpay a push, and she stumbled into the stage, looking slightly confused. Gabriella turned around and got a mike from one of the stage managers, and handed it to Sharpay.

"Sharpay and I have decided that… That The Sweethearts will soon be back together, and because of that, I want us to sing 'Halo' right now…" she glanced softly at Sharpay, "You remember it, right?"

Sharpay smiled, and held the mike to her mouth; realizing that there was no way out of this, "Always."

Gabriella smiled too, and quickly gave the band a sign, so they knew to start. She and Sharpay were going to get back together and take over the world again. And they were going to start right now.

_From Stessa;__ Haha :D I warned you about my crappy writing, but I hope it wasn't too bad. And I really hope the length of this chapter made up for how incredibly long it took us to write it. We WILL be faster with the next chapter; there's just no way I'm gonna let you guys wait this long. And please remember to leave us a review, because… well, we crave them … xD_

_From AK-tutti;__ Finally. That took forever to write. I'm gonna agree with Stessa, never again are we gonna let you wait this long. It's my fault really, I wanted to post the next chapter of I'd Rather Be Special, before I began on this, but I just couldn't write, so I decided to let it go, and begin on this chapter, but I just couldn't write, and then I got on a roll, and yeah... Here you have it. I'd like to claim a song, I Depend On You is my song, it was only briefly mentioned, but yeah it's mine. Thanks for reading this long awaited chapter, and please review. Oh, wait! I do apologize to the ones, who pointed out, that they don't speak spanish in Brazil, it's just my teacher told me they did, but now I know the real deal, and it didn't do so much harm did it? I mean, Portugal is right next to Spain, and their languages sounds so alike, no? Anyway, again please review._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	16. Chapter 16

_From AK-tutti;__ Wow, you guys :). Thanks for the reviews, you guys are awesome. I'm so glad you liked our last chapter, and we hope you'll like this too :). It's coming to an end though, slowly, but it is going that way. Stessa and I had a talk about it, and we're really gonna miss this, when the time comes, but we're also glad, we'll be able to work on other stories. But no more talking, here comes chapter 16 ;b._

_From Stessa;__ Hey there ya'll! Aw, thanks for the awesome reviews, they made me smile! :D I hope you'll like this chapter too, and AK-tutti is right… This story is nearing the end. But we're hoping to work on another fic together, so that's great. At least we're having fun! :p_

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own HSM, we don't own any songs featured in this chapter._

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 16.**

"Do it again!"

"No!"

"Do it again!"

"No!"

"_Do it again!_"

"Fine.."

Gabriella and Cole leaned in and gave each other a sweet little kiss on the lips, and Sharpay found the way they kissed so adorable, that she continued to bother them about it, trying to get them to kiss again and again. Not that they didn't like to share their love that way, but when someone ordered you to do it, it felt forced and not at all romantic.

Still, even though Sharpay was being as annoying as ever, Gabriella couldn't help letting out a girlish giggle, when she and Cole pulled apart. She found it cute, that Sharpay found them adorable.

Sharpay's smile grew wide, Gabriella and Cole were so meant to be. It was so clear to everybody, the tabloids had even made celebrities' wedding predictions, and who would last. Coella was on top of both of them.

It had been a week, since The Sweethearts reunited at the festival after over a year apart, but still it felt like they had never been apart. Gabriella acted like she used to, though she was shipping Coella these days instead of Troyella, and it was preferred. Sharpay acted like she used to, being as annoying as she had ever been, but that's why people loved her. Cole... Well, Cole was being Cole, only the Latina knew, what he used to act like, but from what Sharpay could gather, he was an extremely nice guy and so right for her.

The news of their reunion had already reached around the world, and it was like the biggest thing right now. If you didn't know about The Sweethearts getting back together, you were a nobody. To prove it, there was lying ten different magazines on Gabriella's coffee table with their story on each front page.

Yeah, no change. They were still hanging out at Gabriella's as always, and now it was Cole's too. Sharpay was so surprised, when her best friend had told her, that she had moved in with her boyfriend, and at the same time very happy. Her only reply had been 'but then where do I sleep?', cos they always used to share Gabriella's double bed, and now Cole kinda occupied the other half. Sharpay was shown to the couch.

"Do it again!" Sharpay cheered, with her trademark grin plastered on her face, as she'd just given in to the temptation of ordering them to kiss again. Who could really blame her, they were the cutest thing ever.

"Sharpay..." Gabriella warned, and then her best friend offered her the angel eyes, that she couldn't resist. "Fine, one more. And then you need to gear down."

Coella leaned in and kissed again, it was pure love. Sharpay placed a hand on her heart, she was so touched by them, and she just hoped, that she'd be able to find that again. When Gabriella and Cole broke apart again, the Latina sent her blonde friend a look, that clearly said 'that better be it'.

It was. But Sharpay was just so happy for her best friend and for Cole, they had found true love. It didn't even bother Sharpay, that Cole had been there everyday, since she and Gabriella made up, she had come to like it that way. It hadn't been like back then, when Gabriella had dated Troy, and Sharpay had been bothered by his constant presence. Then again, she had secretly been in love with Troy or something like that, and then seeing him with her best friend, wouldn't that be a bother to anybody? Cole was made for Gabriella, and Sharpay wasn't attracted to him at all, sure he was good looking and all that jazz, but she could only see him as a friend, which was a good thing. There would be no repeat of last year.

"You know, what I love?" Sharpay spoke all of the sudden, she had finally decided, it was time to stop demanding them to kiss, and let them do it whenever they felt like it, which was the way it was meant to be.

"Chocolate chip cookies? Smoothies? Random songs? Funny words? The colour pink? Oh, music?" Gabriella offered, but when Sharpay didn't reply to any of her suggestions, she let it go with a sigh and a; "I give up."

"I love all those things, and you." Sharpay then revealed, but that wasn't really what she had thought of. "You know, what I really, really love? Wheetos!" Both Gabriella and Cole gave her a weird look, what the hell was Wheetos? "But the thing is, you need milk to this chocolate-y cereal thing, and here's my problem; we don't have any milk."

She fake pouted and stuck out her bottom, that always used to help her get her way with her parents. Gabriella had to laugh, cos she had known Sharpay for such a long time, that she could see the fakeness so clearly.

"Good thing, you don't actually live here then." Gabriella said and stuck her tongue out at Sharpay, who then changed her face from pouty to offended. "Though I must admit, I do love fruity loops, and you need milk for those too."

That's how they made peace, and then they turned their attention to Cole, giving him a saying look. He gave them a weird one back, but after a few minutes of blankly staring at them, he finally got, why they were looking at him like that.

"Ok, I got it, I got it." He said, as he let go of Gabriella's hand, which he had been holding, and got up from the couch. "You want _me_ to go get the milk, don't you?" As a reply both of them nodded, and Gabriella sent him one of her sweet angel smiles, that she knew, he couldn't resist. "Aww, just for you then, honey."

He walked out into Gabriella's small hall and put on his jacket, all the while shaking his head at the two silly girls, and then he was out the door, finally giving The Sweethearts some alone time, not that they had minded him there.

There was a long silence, before one of them spoke, they wanted to make sure, that Cole was long gone and couldn't eavesdrop, when they began talking about whatever came to mind, mostly about their reconciliation as The Sweethearts, which was an important matter.

"So are we tempted to read, what the magazines have to say about us?" Sharpay asked, being the first one to speak, after Cole had left, and by we she totally meant Gabriella. She knew how curious that girl was.

"No." Gabriella tried, but it was far from the truth, and Sharpay read her right away, giving her the 'I don't believe you'-look, so Gabriella sighed and gave in. "Very much tempted. And the top one, the OK! magazine is practically screaming 'READ ME, READ ME' at me. Please just one, Shar? Please?"

Sharpay considered the option of teasing her best friend by saying no, though she knew, she could never be that mean towards her, but with those anxious eyes Gabriella sent her, she could drag it on a little.

"Hmm..." Sharpay knew her best friend couldn't take that sound, she couldn't help it, though, with the look on Gabriella's face. In what felt like forever in Gabriella's point of view, Sharpay finally continued; "Sure, go ahead, my little coffee obsessed freak."

Then she grabbed the OK! magazine from Gabriella's coffee table and handed it to her, and the Latina gladly accepted it, excitingly ripping it open to read, what it said about them. There was a picture of them from the festival, smiling with their arms around each other, Sharpay in a grassy costume and Gabriella in her white jeans and sparkly red top. What had Sharpay been thinking? Then it said a bunch of thing about the festival, about them and that The Sweethearts were back together, and then there was a little interview with them. All reporters suffered from the 2nd grade syndrome called 'first one there'.

As Gabriella skimmed the magazine, Sharpay noticed a block of paper lying in OK!'s place, and when she squinted her eyes, she could see big block letters with her handwriting that read 'Always Be Your Baby' on it. She nervously glanced over at her best friend to see, if she had noticed, because she wasn't supposed to. It didn't appear, that she had, so Sharpay quickly snatched it, which was her mistake.

Gabriella noticed, even though she was focused on her magazine. "What's that?" She asked, as she looked over the magazine and pointed at the block in Sharpay's hand, that she was trying to hide. "What are you hiding?"

Sharpay rose from the couch and placed the block on her former seat, and after having done that she sat back down on it, just so Gabriella wouldn't see it, and then she said; "Nothing, absolutely nothing. I just like to sit on paper, y'know, cos it's really... uhm, comfortable."

"We both know, it was something, so don't even try to make up some fake story to me. I see right through ya, Sharpay." Gabriella told her best friend, as she reached out her hand to it. "Now hand it over."

"Gabs, it's really nothing interesting, and I..." Sharpay tried to explain, because if there was one person, she didn't want to see, what was under her butt, it was Gabriella.

The Latina wouldn't have it and cut her off. "Hand it!"

"Fine!" Sharpay sighed, while she dug her hand under her behind and dragged out the paper block, which she handed to Gabriella, who ripped it out of her hand. There definitely was no hiding anything from that chick, and ever since they had come clean about the ages, y'know Gabriella being older than Sharpay, Gabriella had begun acting all big sisterly towards Sharpay. Well, she had done that before too, but back then it had been more like, a friend look after another friend. Sharpay felt protected, it was great and everything, but sometimes it was too much. Like right now, Gabriella did not need to see that song.

The whole time period, when Gabriella was reading the most recent song, Sharpay had written, the blonde chick was in agony. Would Gabriella be able to tell? And then it came...

"This song is about Troy, isn't?" Gabriella questioned, and Sharpay looked down, as she knew she couldn't lie to that question, but she still managed to shake her head, which couldn't exactly be described as lying. "Do you think I'm stupid, Shar? This song is totally about Troy. I know you're still in love with him, and that's ok. I have Cole, and I'm happy."

"Give me that!" Sharpay hissed at Gabriella, then she grabbed the paper from her, that girl wasn't gonna tell her, how she was feeling, and who she wrote that song to, even if she was dead on. She felt bad about it all immediately. "This song is not about Troy, and I'm not still in love with him, and I don't think you're stupid." She paused for a moment and then added; "Forever and a Night isn't about him either."

"Oh, so the song isn't about him?" Gabriella said, as she snatched the song back from Sharpay, and then she started quoting lines from. "Time can't change a good thing, needing you is something I'll always feel, you'll always be my baby. But that's not the best part, Shar baby, that's not what gave it away, no that would be the chorus; Remember we were loving every single night, you gave me all the love I needed to survive, each and every day I'd only dream of you, and every single thing we would do, remember all the plans that we made, all the things we went through, just one thing remains, you'll always be my baby." She threw the song down on her coffee table and continued her rant. "This screams Troypay, and you know it. Why won't you just admit, that you still love him? And while we're at it, Forever and a Night is totally Troypay as well, so stop pretending, that you didn't write it for him."

She stopped to see, if Sharpay had an input, but when she didn't, Gabriella went on. "And 100 Different Ways? Troypay! You can deny that, all you want, but I know you took that from Troy, because he showed that song to me, when we were going out, so the fact that you 'stole' it makes it Troypay." She paused again, but only to begin using her soft voice again. "I love Forever and a Night, don't get me wrong, I do. We have agreed it's gonna be on the album and everything, because it's so amazing, and Always Be My Baby will probably also be on the album. It appears to be a great song, so kudos on the great song, but listen to me Sharpay Denice Evans, I will not make our comeback album a love serenade from you to a certain Troy Bolton, so keep the sappy love songs that you write while thinking of him to a minimum, please?"

Sharpay had tears forming in her eyes, and her bottom lip was quivering, and Gabriella anticipated an outburst any minute, but it didn't come. Instead she jumped up off the couch, like someone had given her a fright, and then she stormed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and screaming; "I DON'T LOVE HIM!"

But Sharpay Evans did love Troy Bolton, she just wouldn't admit it, because she was afraid of hurting Gabriella, like she had done before. No matter how much Gabriella said, she was over Troy and was in love with Cole, Sharpay still wouldn't let herself love him. She couldn't, it would be too much drama, and she knew, that even though Gabriella was over him, should that be the case, it would still hurt her and remind her of what they did to her back then. So Sharpay couldn't do that, she loved Gabriella way too much to do that.

Gabriella knew, that she was gonna be alone for some time now, while the blonde girl cried out, so she decided to make herself some hot cocoa. She went into the kitchen and began finding all the things to make hot cocoa with, all the while humming this new melody, that she had never heard in her life before. It was like, she was creating a new song in her head somehow, but she wasn't humming a melody to a song, she had written, but the one Sharpay had unwillingly shown her just now. Much to Gabriella's surprise, it was a happy feel good tune, not like she had imagined it, when she read the lyrics, but now it just came to her, and she could feel, that it was right.

With Sharpay's song in the back of her mind, she took out two cups from her cabinet, making hot cocoa for herself and Sharpay, so that there would be a cup for her best friend, when she later would come out of the bathroom, after being done feeling bad about still loving Gabriella's ex-boyfriend. Gabriella was no fool, she knew, and she was gonna do something, but not now; it was COCOA TIME.

When she had made the hot cocoa, she brought it with her into the living room and placed it on her coffee table. She had given Sharpay marshmallows in her cup, because she knew how that girl love-love-loved hot cocoa with marshmallows. She sat down in her chair with her on cup and took a sip of it, just enjoying how it tasted, and then she picked up a pen and began adding keyboard chords to Sharpay's song, like she had heard it in her head. Gabriella was a kickass keyboard player, so she knew what she was doing.

After a good 15 minutes, she was finally done with the song, and she knew, that when she told Sharpay about, what she had done, she would be so happy about it. She had just put the song back on the table, when Sharpay finally came out of the bathroom, her eyes all puffy.

"You made cocoa?" Was the first thing, Sharpay asked, when she came out of the bathroom, and Gabriella nodded. "Please tell me, you made some for me. You know, we're HCWMB, so you better tell me you made some for me?"

"It's on the table, sweetie." Gabriella said, as she pointed at the cup on the table. "And HCWMB? What does that mean?"

Sharpay sat down on the couch, she quickly took the cup in her hands and sipped the cocoa, and then she turned her attention at Gabriella, giving her a weird look, like she would know, even though Sharpay had just come up with it. "Hot cocoa with marshmallows buddies, like you didn't already know." And then Sharpay stuck her tongue out at Gabriella and took another sip of her cocoa.

And that's when she decided to do it. She hurried off the chair and headed towards her bedroom, right before going in she turned to Sharpay and said; "I know, we're HCWMB, but I'm sorry you have to enjoy your cocoa alone, I have a very, very important phone call to make. Excuse me."

Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, because this was a phone call Sharpay shouldn't be hearing. She picked up her cell from her pocket, and then she pressed a number, she still remembered, even though she had tried to forget it. Somehow deep inside, she had this feeling, she would be needing it again, so she dropped her 'project' of trying to forget.

Only two beeps, and then the person she had called already picked up. "Troy Bolton here, speak to me?"

"Hi Troy, it's me." She announced herself, she knew she didn't need to say her name, she knew that he remembered her voice, though the last time he heard it, it was all shrieky and helium high.

She had to hold in a giggle at the thought of that, it was typical Sharpay. She called Gabriella's voice helium high, when she got all upset, and the Latina found it to be funny name, and whenever she thought about it, it always made her laugh. Now wasn't a laughing matter, so she had be serious, plus she hadn't spoken to Troy in years, and they didn't really know each other anymore, so he would probably find it a bit weird.

But she didn't even get to anticipate his reply to hearing her voice, because he hung up faster than he had picked up his phone. She removed the phone from her ear and looked at the display, then she whispered quietly to herself; "Well, I just wanted to give you my blessing."

--

The weirdest thing happened that day Gabriella called. Troy was just sitting in his comfortable chair in his apartment, minding his own business, fighting his urge to go see Sharpay, and then Gabriella called. Why would she even call? She hated his guts, after he'd slept with her best friend numerous times behind her back and lied about, so why would she call? Maybe she could sense, he wanted to contact Sharpay, and decided to call just to remind him of everything!

After that he wanted to keep himself busy, so he didn't think about that previous event, because he knew, he'd obsess over why she'd called. He had gone with cleaning, which was a very stupid idea, he hated cleaning, and he could use his apartment for a very good argument for that.

He scanned his apartment; dirty clothes lying everywhere, old pizza boxes, filthy used plates. Let's just say, that it was a wonder, that he could find his phone, and his little cleaning project had been way overdue. That was Gabriella on you, making you do things by yourself, that you had put off doing for so long. God, he wished he could be friends with her and forget everything, but he knew that was impossible, because of Sharpay and everything. At least he had the memory of them.

He had just carried along his hope, during this year. He had been thinking about what to do if he ever heard from one of them, and now when Gabriella had called, he'd simply freaked out and hung up. He hated himself for being that stupid. He should have spoken to her, shouldn't he? It would probably have done him good to just hear what she had to say. Maybe it wouldn't even be bad, maybe it was good news. He had seen the magazines. Perhaps she had just called to let him know personally? That was the person Gabriella was, so it'd actually make good sense.

But he had hung up the phone. Had been _that_ stupid. Right now he didn't get why that was. He simply sat down in his chair, and stared around his apartment again. With all that thinking he had just done, he believed he deserved a break. He needed to sit down and relax. He had never thought that much about one matter in so little time and it wore him out.

He had just kicked back and was closing his eyes, when the there was a knock on the door. He groaned and was tempted to let it be, but whoever was out there, was very anxious to see him, because the knocks got louder and closer together. He got out of his chair very slowly and crossed his apartment, "I'm coming, I'm coming…" he mumbled, knowing that the person wouldn't hear him, but saying it still. He reached out and grasped the doorknob, turned it down and pulled the door open.

He was very surprised to see who was at the other side of the door. He hadn't really expected her to show up. He hadn't seen Gabriella in years. He hadn't expected her to just come to his apartment, especially after he hang up on her. But she probably never gave up. He knew he would have, though. If he'd called someone, only to have them smack the phone down, he definitely wouldn't have had the guts to show up at their doorstep.

"Don't smack the door in my face." She quickly said, her brown eyes locked with his; her voice calm and collected. "I really need to speak with you, Troy."

He chuckled nervously. He was tempted to close the door again, but he had just agreed with himself that it was stupid of him to hang up on her. Now she had gone the few streets to his apartment in so little time, and still wanted to speak with him. He really should do that. It seemed like it was important. But still… if it was just about their break-up again, what would it matter?

"It's about Sharpay." She said, as if she had read his mind.

Now, this caught Troy's attention. He stepped aside to let her come into the apartment, and closed the door behind her, before leading her to his living room, "Uhm," he started, but then told himself to step up and act normal, "sorry about before, I…" he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase how he had felt before when she had called.

"It's okay. I understand." Gabriella simply said and looked around the living room, taking in everything.

"Sorry about the mess." Troy quickly said, and moved past her to push a bunch of magazines off of his couch so she could sit down, she did so and he watched her dumbly, "Uhm… do you want anything?" he awkwardly questioned.

"That'd be nice, thank you." Gabriella said, and as he turned to leave, she stopped him, "And Troy, don't be so awkward. I know we used to go out, but this has nothing to do with us. It's in the past." She paused and bit her lip for a few seconds, "And I'd really like it if we could become friends. Let's just… not be awkward around each other. I know you're pig, I used to date you. Don't excuse the mess."

Troy sighed in relief. That was just what he needed to hear. He actually felt stupid for thinking Gabriella would expect all kind of things from him. Of course she wouldn't. She was one of the people who knew him best in the entire world. She knew what he liked and what he disliked. She knew he didn't pick up his dirty clothes and didn't vacuum. And it still didn't bother her. She always used to tell him that it was his apartment, and he could do what he wanted.

"I'll just go get the drinks, then." Troy said and hurried out of the living room, a more happy bounce in his step. He went to the fridge and pulled out some coke. He knew Gabriella wouldn't expect anymore, so he also just grabbed two glasses and went back to the living room, where Gabriella was studying the front cover of a magazine.

She looked up when she heard him place the two glasses and the bottle on the table, and offered him a small smile. She turned the magazine around so he could see the front page, which was covered by two smiley faces – herself and Sharpay's, "I guess you already know, huh?"

"Yeah." Troy shrugged, and sat down in his chair. He had read everything about it. You were a nobody if you didn't know about The Sweethearts, and of course he knew. It was on every front page, every headline was about the two sweethearts, "…and surprisingly enough," he added, with a small smirk, "I'm only mentioned in a few of them."

"Yeah, I didn't see your name too many times." Gabriella concluded, and took the glass Troy offered her. He had just poured coke into it, "And that's kinda nice. Because… because it makes what I want to do so much easier. Everyone has forgotten about Troy Bolton, which is good. Just for this."

Troy cocked his eyebrow. What the hell was that woman going on about? She wasn't even making sense right now. Sure, it was nice that he wasn't known as the guy who ruined The Sweethearts any longer, but what was she talking about? "What do you mean?" he questioned, "What do you have in mind?"

Gabriella placed the glass on the table again, and turned around, so she was staring fully at him. She had just turned much more serious, like this was a really big deal, and perhaps it was, "I already told you it's about Sharpay." She started, and reached a hand out to grasp his.

"How is she doing?" Troy asked, not even jerking away from Gabriella's touch. It felt kinda nice and very familiar to feel her skin again. He wouldn't say he had missed the feeling, because he hadn't. He'd missed the feeling of Sharpay's skin on his, but having Gabriella there again felt secure and relaxing.

Gabriella took in a deep breath, getting ready to explain, "She's doing alright, I guess." she told him, "She's happy now that I've forgiven her for everything. I think she's been living in hell this past year. She's had her new friend Taylor, you remember her right?" Troy nodded, and she continued, "Plus this new hair-girl. I believe she's been dating a bit, but nothing serious. Sharpay has never been good with guys. Until you."

Troy had figured that much. Gabriella had told him all about her best friend, and when he started seeing Sharpay too, she had warned him a bit about herself. She had told him she was never good with this stuff, and that she'd probably screw up.

"But she's really happy now that we're back together." Gabriella told him, and pulled back; leaning herself against his couch, "I'm happy too. I'm dating this guy, Cole. It's been a long time, and I love him. I'm not mad anymore. I trust Sharpay again now, and I just want her to be happy. I know her Troy, I know her inside and out." She paused, and thought things over for a few seconds, "And I make myself believe that I somehow know you too. That's what I convince myself."

Troy smiled, "You don't know everything about me." He said, and leaned back in his chair too. He could already feel some of their playfulness coming back full force, and that made him happy. He'd missed their friendly banters.

"No." Gabriella firmly said, and looked up at him, beneath her long eyelashes, "But I do know that you still love Sharpay very much and that you went to the festival only so you could see her. I know you looked up at her from your place in the crowd and thought about everything." She almost giggled, but held it back, "I saw you through those walls."

Troy didn't exactly know what to say. He was a bit embarrassed that she had seen him, because he had been really moved by everything, and he was sure it would have shown in his face.

"It's okay, Troy." Gabriella said, her voice getting soft and tender, "She still loves you too, you know…"

"No, she doesn't." Troy quickly cut her off, without even a doubt in his voice. He knew Sharpay didn't love him. She was the one who broke it off with him and if she really loved him, she wouldn't have done that. He was sure of it, "She's over me, Gabriella. She broke up with me, remember?"

"That doesn't mean she doesn't love you anymore!" Gabriella told him, voice getting more demanding; she needed him to understand this. He had to know, "She does, Troy. She didn't break up with you because she didn't love you. She broke up with you because of me. Because she felt guilty and because she wanted to save our friendship."

"She still wouldn't have broken it off with me if she loved me enough." Troy said, voice determined.

Gabriella almost rolled her eyes, but she held it back because she didn't want to upset him, "Of course she would have, Troy. It was more complicated than that, and I bet she was really confused."

"Okay fine," he said, and shrugged, "so let's say that she really did love me even if she broke it off with me." He paused and gave her a look, "That doesn't mean she still loves me now."

"Oh," Gabriella said, and went into her jeans pocket, picking out a piece of folded paper, "but she does."

Troy curiously got the paper from Gabriella and shot her a confused look. She just motioned for him to open the paper, a mysterious smile on her face. He opened the paper slowly and came face to face with something he immediately recognized as a song. It was titled 'Always Be My Baby', and he scanned the word silently.

Gabriella stood up and looked down at him, when he lifted his gaze to meet hers. She could tell he was happy now. "And with that being said," she motioned to the paper, before continuing, "I just wanted to give you my blessings."

She finished with that and turned around on her heel, leaving the apartment.

--

They'd had a blast all day. They had goofed off and danced and laughed and had fun ever since they arrived around six o'clock that morning. Gabriella had been a bit worried about how it would go since it was so long since they had recorded together, but everything went perfectly fine. They had soon went back into their old ways and their voices sounded better together than ever.

"So awesome girls!" Jack said and applauded them a few times, as they stepped away from the microphones and gave him thumb-ups. "Everyone's gonna love this song." He continued, and then turned to Tanya, "How much more is scheduled for today?"

Tanya quickly checked their calendar, just to make sure, even if she knew the schedule by heart, "Only… _Forever and a Night_." She smiled at them, "You girls already agreed on everything, didn't you?"

Sharpay nodded, "Yup, everything is planned out." She said, and placed an arm around Gabriella's shoulders.

"We talked about it," Gabriella added, to explain it to Tanya, "since it was Sharpay's song, I didn't want to do any of the stuff she wanted to, so I let her choose just about everything."

"Which you didn't have to do." Sharpay added, "We've done your stuff before, and I did some of that. You're just being silly."

Gabriella stuck her tongue out at her, "Says you."

Jack and Tanya couldn't help but chuckle. Those two girls never seized to amuse them. "Alright girls, fun's up." Tanya said, and gave them both a stern look, "If you want to go home tonight you're gonna have to start."

"Alright." Gabriella mumbled, and made sure her ear buffs were pressed tightly to her ears, before she stepped closer to her microphone again, "Get it moving, Tanya."

Tanya smiled at the two stars and started the music. She and Jack leaned back in their seats and watched the two girls work, just singing their hearts out. They could tell that they really enjoyed this. They had been smiling all day long, and more days like this one were to come, since this was only day one, and recording an album took time. Their next day was already tomorrow and the week out. They had been rehearsing and discussing everything with Tanya too, and they had to do that with every song.

…When they finally were done with work for that day, Sharpay and Gabriella made their way out of the recording studio, happy smiles on their faces. The last song had been amazing to record, and both of the girls couldn't wait to hear the outcome whenever it was ready. They felt really good about their work that day, and they were really worn out, so they were just looking forward to going to their beds.

Well, Gabriella was looking forward to her bed, while Sharpay was looking forward to Gabriella's couch.

"I had fun today." Sharpay told her best friend, as they stopped outside to breathe in the cold night air.

"Yeah, me too." Gabriella agreed, nodding her head a bit, her brown hair blowing in the wind, "I've really missed doing this with you. It's more fun than alone."

"I agree." Sharpay smiled, and then continued, "Soo, you wanna walk home or-" she paused, when she saw the look, Gabriella gave her, "…or do you wanna take a cab? Whyy…" she paused, "Why, Gabriella? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face? Oh my God, I have something between my teeth, don't I? Gosh, have I been singing with that all day long!?" she breathed out and tried to calm herself, "Gee, you could've told me, you know!?"

Gabriella swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on that certain person, "Sharpay… that's not what it is…"

"What?" Sharpay then questioned, and Gabriella just grabbed her shoulders with both her hands and turned her around, blonde hair whipping in the wind, hitting Gabriella across the face, "Ohh…" Sharpay mumbled, when she came face to face with no other than Troy Bolton.

"Sharpay, hey." He said and took a step closer, a nervous smile on his face.

It felt like her throat was tightening so she wouldn't be able to speak, but she just managed to squeak out a, "Hi."

"Sooo," Gabriella begun and smirked at Troy, before she lowered her mouth to Sharpay's ear, "I'm gonna go home now. Just walk home later by yourself, okay?"

"Gabriella, no!" Sharpay said, but of course she didn't stop. Her best friend was out of there, before Sharpay could count to three, and she felt hopeless. She didn't want to be alone with Troy right now. She didn't want to speak with him after how everything ended. Sure, she still loved him with all of her heart, but being alone with him… that hadn't been in her plans at all.

Troy chuckled nervously.

"Oh, this could get awkward." Sharpay mumbled to herself, and turned back around to look at Troy. She shot him a small smile – it was all she could muster – and wrapped her arms around herself, to keep herself warm in the chilly night.

"Only if you want it to be." Troy said, and motioned for them to start walking, "We'll walk towards your place, it'll save you a cab later, listen…" he paused when he realized that he was rambling off, and chuckled again, "Sorry, you must wonder why I'm here."

"Yeah, I do." Sharpay confirmed and moved her phase up a bit, to keep herself warm, "And we should walk towards Gabriella's, I'm staying there. So why are you here?" she bit her lip, when she realized that she was making the same mistake as Troy. She was speaking fast too, and she shouldn't. It was just Troy. She had known him for longer than a year; he was the only guy she had ever really loved, so why was she this nervous? She should just calm down and take a deep breath…

"Cool." Troy confirmed, and glanced up at her, "And I'm here, because…" he searched for his words, "Because I really need to speak with you." she could tell that he had troubles telling her what was on his mind, and she figured it was because it was very personal or something, "It's about us, really."

Sharpay froze and stopped to turn to him, "What about us?" she quickly questioned him, afraid to dig up in that old stuff; her wounds were just healing, "There's no us, Troy."

He shot her a saying look, a little hurt of what she said, even if it was the truth, "There _was_ an us, Sharpay." He said, and grabbed her hand, even if she attempted to move it, "I want to talk about that, and I want to tell you that… That I want there to be an us. I want to be with you, Sharpay. I haven't stopped loving you since we were together, and I think about you practically every day. I know, deep down, that you feel that same about me…"

"Troy, I…" she paused, not sure what to say to him. On one hand she was thrilled to hear what he was saying. That he still loved her was amazing to know and that he wanted to be with her, made her so happy, but… things still hadn't changed since she broke it off with him. She was still Gabriella's best friend, and you don't date your best friends' exes. She loved him back when she broke it off with him and she still loved him now. She couldn't do anything to change the fact that he had dated Gabriella. And she refused to hurt her best friend like that again, she really did. "I'm sorry, but… I can't be with you. I just can't. You're Gabriella's ex-boyfriend, and I don't wanna hurt her. I hope you can understand that."

Troy arched his eyebrow. Didn't she know that Gabriella had spoken to him? Didn't she know that Gabriella had given them her blessing to be together and be happy? If she didn't, he had to tell her… Before she _left_. "But Gabriella said that-"

"No, Troy." She said, her voice firm and hard. She shook her hand out of his grasp and took a step away from him, "I won't hurt her, okay? We just became friends again; we're working on a new album. I refuse to make her cry like I did."

"But Sharpay, I-"

"Forget it, Troy!" she cut him off. It hurt her, it really did. It hurt her to see him freak out this way, because she shot him down, and it hurt herself that she was never gonna be with the love of her life. "I'm gonna go home now. Don't – don't come see me again, okay?"

She turned around on her heel, before Troy could even manage to begin his explanation of how Gabriella had been at his place, and how he had seen her song… She just walked away from him again, not looking back. It hurt him to see her like that, but he refused to give up. He was going to talk to her, so he could have her back; there was no doubt about it.

--

When Sharpay came through the door she went into the living room immediately. She was sad and angry at the same time. It had been hard to turn away from him again, knowing it hurt him like it hurt her, but she was sure she had made the right choice. She stopped though, when she saw a smiley Gabriella sitting in her chair, excited (that thing was evident – it was the shine in her eyes that did it).

"How did it go?" she immediately asked, her eyes following Sharpay as the blonde girl sat down on the couch and kicked off her heels, "What did he say? What did he want?"

Sharpay didn't reply. She just crossed her arms firmly across her face and turned her head away from Gabriella. She didn't want to talk about it. It was supposed to be in the past, and she didn't want to even think about what could have been. She knew it was kinda selfish to say it, but she did sort of blame Gabriella that she and Troy couldn't be together. But she would never say so, because Gabriella meant everything to her, and she'd always respect her wishes.

"Oh come on, Sharpay!" Gabriella said, and moved from her chair to the couch, right next to Sharpay, "Please tell me what happened. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?"

Sharpay turned around to look at Gabriella and blinked a few times, before saying, "It wasn't horrible, no." she confirmed, "He wanted to get back together with me."

"Oh my God!" Gabriella exclaimed, acting surprised even if she wasn't _at all_, "That's so great, Sharpay!"

Sharpay froze, surprised. Did Gabriella just say that it was great that Troy wanted to get together with her again? That was weird. Sharpay had thought she would freak out and immediately ask her if she had said yes or no. And if she had said yes, she would have ruined The Sweethearts reunion before it even begun for real. But she just seemed happy for her and excited about it… Why was that?

Sharpay cocked an eyebrow, "Uhm, excuse me? Great?" she questioned, "How so?"

"What did you say!?" Gabriella exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat. She really wanted to know; she hoped Sharpay had had enough sense to arrange a date of some sort with him, "You did say yes, didn't you?"

Sharpay paused, "No!" she said, and leaned back in the couch, shooting Gabriella a bunch of weird looks, "Why would I say yes?" she asked, "I remembered what happened the last time and I didn't want a repeat of that. I told him that I'd never hurt you like that again and that he had to respect that." 

"But Sharpay!" Gabriella whined, now clearly upset. She couldn't believe that Sharpay had shot Troy down. That had got to be the most stupid thing she had ever done. Gabriella had really thought she'd have sense enough to actually tell him yes and just get him back and be happy! But she hadn't… Gabriella now cursed her best friend for being so blonde.

"What?" Sharpay questioned, "I just didn't want to risk you again."

"_I_ contacted Troy." Gabriella explained, knowing she had to come clear. She had to tell Sharpay, because if she didn't, maybe everything would be even more messed up. If she told her now, maybe Sharpay would still be able to fix things between her and Troy, which was everything Gabriella wanted. She just wanted them both to be happy.

"You did?" Sharpay asked, disbelief streaming through her voice. When exactly had Gabriella had time to contact Troy?

"Yes." Gabriella confirmed, reaching a hand out to grab Sharpay's, "I went to talk to him just today. We discussed everything and since I'm completely over Troy and everything's in the past, I told him that you guys have my blessings." She paused and squeezed Sharpay's hand tight, "I know you still love him very much, and I want you both to be happy. I told him to go for it." she scoffed, "I just didn't think you'd be blonde enough to shot him down." 

"I did that for _you_!" Sharpay said, and stood up from the couch, looking down at Gabriella, her hands on her hips, "I did that because I care about you, Gab. Don't call me blonde like that, because everything I did, I did for you, and not for me."

"I know, Sharpay." Gabriella said and stood up too, to be on eyelevel with Sharpay, hoping the other girl would calm down again, "And I appreciate that. But I'm telling you now… You have my blessing, you have my permission or whatever you want to call it." she paused and stared deeply into Sharpay's eyes, "Just… fix it with him. Go be happy."

Sharpay took a step away from Gabriella, the brunette's intense stare becoming too much. She bit her lip and seemed to think about everything for a few seconds, before coming to a decision. She looked back into Gabriella's eyes and said, "No, Gabby… I don't think…" she paused and struggled with her words, "I don't think I'm quite up to that anymore. I'm through with getting my heart broken."

"But you won't get your heart broken, Sharpay." Gabriella objected, desperately trying to get her to see the light, "Troy loves you. He does. He won't hurt you."

Sharpay shook her head, "I'm sorry, Gabriella, it was a sweet thought, but I…" she paused a took in a deep breath, "I'm gonna have to pass…"

"But-"

"Please don't talk about this anymore." Sharpay finished, before she turned around and went into the bathroom to be alone.

--

Later that night, when Sharpay was lying on Gabriella's couch, listening to the soft breathings of Gabriella and Cole in the next room, coming through the half-open door, she couldn't help but wish to have that. She wanted someone to share a bed with at night, someone to wake up next to; just someone to love. She wanted to have what they had. It was so amazingly cute, and she sorta wanted to be one of those couples who made you want to puke because of their absolutely sick sweetness.

She wanted to kiss and kiss and kiss like Gabriella and Cole had done earlier. And she hated to admit that she sort of wanted to have that with Troy, even if she was scared. She was so scared of what would happen to her, and she knew her heart was fragile, and she didn't want to take a risk.

She had been so surprised earlier about Gabriella and all her blessings. She honestly hadn't expected that, and when it happened she was too shocked to really do anything about it. She had told Gabriella that she still didn't want Troy, and that was actually true. Because she was taking care of her heart; she didn't want it to break into tiny pieces like last time.

She turned onto her side and glanced at the big watch on the wall. It was lit up by the streetlight from outside, and she could clearly see that it was already past twelve. She knew it wasn't specifically late or anything, but she knew she had to get up early, and she really wanted to sleep.

She closed her eyes tightly and prayed to get sleepy, but she couldn't. Millions of thoughts kept streaming through her head; they made her confused and she didn't know what to do or what to think. She just wanted everything to be okay. She just wanted to be happy. Would she be happy without Troy?

Before she managed to answer herself, her phone went off right next to her. She reached for it, not minding the caller, knowing it would probably be important since it was this hour. She flipped it open and placed it next to her left ear, since the right one was pressed against her pillow.

"Yes?" she tiredly asked, holding back a yawn.

"It's Troy." He softly said, but then quickly added, "Don't hang up on me! I need to say something."

Sharpay furrowed her brow in confusion. Why would Troy be calling her now? Especially after the way she treated him just earlier on. She didn't understand that, "Uhm… Okay." she softly breathed, just happy to hear his voice. "What do you have to say?"

"Just listen, okay?" he said. There was a long pause, before he softly began singing, "_Out of sight, out of mind. That's what they all say, But I learned that ain't the truth with me and you babe…_"

Sharpay held back a surprised shriek. He was singing her song. He was singing her song, and he was doing it well. How did he know her song? She had no idea, but she knew how it made her feel. Her heart started beating faster, her head started spinning. She felt happier than she had done in a long time… Troy was singing to her.

"_Time can't change a good thing, Lovin you is something I still feel, You'll always be my...baby_." he paused for a few seconds, before going straight for the chorus, "_Remember we were lovin' every single night, You gave me all the love I needed to survive, And each and every day I'd only dream of you, And every single thing we would do, Remember all the plans that we made, All the things we went through, Just one thing remains, You'll always be my baby…_"

She chuckled into the phone, choking back happy tears. She didn't want him to know how he made her feel, though he probably already knew, since he knew her inside and out. She just… she couldn't believe he was doing this for her. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

"_Life's too short, don't look back, that's what they all say,_" he continued, singing every word clearly, just the way she had imagined them, "_Cos you don't know what you've got, no, until it's gone babe., Same mistakes, we make again, Needing you is something I'll always feel, You'll always be my...baby._"

He took another breather, before finishing off, "_These days I find myself remembering what we had, Each time I walk away, I just keep turning back, And every night and every day, The love we had, the love we made, And I wonder if it's true, Am I still your baby too…"_

_From Stessa;__ There you go, guys ;D I hope you enjoyed! I know it was a long wait, but we were still faster than the last time. Please remember to drop off a review, it means the world to us. I'm very sorry if some of these parts are crappy (if they are, they're probably my parts). I don't know what I was thinking writing some of these, but at least I tried. Haha xD I hope you enjoyed the whole lot of Troypay-ness we had in this chapter! _

_From AK-tutti;__ Finally, it's done. This took forever, but Stessa is right, it didn't take as long as last time. I take the blame for the long delay, because I told her I would start the chapter, and then after a month I did. Anyway, not that it matters now, the chapter is here, and the next one will be there as fast as possible._

_**Stessa and AK-tutti were here :)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_From AK-tutti;__ Hey :). Sorry that it took so long to come with an update, but we're here now, so we hope you'll enjoy this chapter. And I promise next chapter should be here sooner, and if we don't keep it... Well, it's all Stessa's fault! Kidding ;b. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, we love them :)._

_From Stessa;__ Hi there! Sorry for the long delay, but we've both been busy. I hope it's okay. Thank you so much for the awesome reviews, I hope you know we love them ;b _

_**Disclaimer; **__We do not own High School Musical, or any song mentioned in this chapter._

**Twist of Love **

**Chapter 17. **

"So where do you wanna go?" Troy asked Sharpay, as he held on strongly to her hand. He had no intensions of letting go. Now when he had her back, he was going to make sure she didn't leave him again; he was going to make sure that the two of them grew old together because he loved her that much.

Sharpay turned her head to the side and gave him a big grin, "I dunno!" she cheered, squeezing his hand tightly, "Somewhere that serves good breakfast. Oh!" she winked at him, "I want a muffin!"

"Then you're gonna get a muffin." Troy promised her, as he stopped for a second to give her a kiss on the lips, before they continued down the busy morning street.

Sharpay was wearing her huge sunglasses, just to try and keep the fans and the paparazzi away. The sun was shining, but not that much. The minute they found a place to eat, she'd take them off, since she didn't particularly like wearing them. And she couldn't contain her happiness that morning. She felt all bubbly on the inside, like she was about to burst if she wasn't careful. She was so happy that her and Troy were back together. She had been a little hesitant, knowing how much it hurt Gabriella back then, but when Troy had explained everything, she had found it okay. But where he really won her over was the song… God, his beautiful, amazing voice… She felt like her heart was beating a thousand miles an hour just thinking about it.

It was only around a month ago, and now he was taking her out for breakfast. He said it was about time they went somewhere, after keeping in his or her apartment. He said that someday the world would know about them, since he didn't intend on leaving her, so she might as well get it over with. She was just nervous about what people would say, since it was Gabriella's ex-boyfriend and this was the second time they were together. And right after The Sweethearts got back together too! It'd cause trouble, Sharpay knew that.

"This should be a really good place." Troy told Sharpay, as he stopped in front of a cute looking little restaurant, that seemed cosy and just perfect for the two of them, "I uh… I brought Gabriella breakfast from here one time."

Sharpay turned to him and arched a perfectly plugged eyebrow, "Really?" she said, and then made her decision; it looked really good, and she was tired of walking around – they might as well go in there. She gave his hand a light squeeze before she went for the door and tugged him inside.

The door made a slight sound when they stepped inside, but no one looked at them. The place was not even half full and that was perfect in Sharpay's opinion. Troy nodded towards a free table in the corner, right by the big window, and Sharpay smiled and followed him there, sitting down on the pillowed bench, as Troy sat down opposite from her.

"This is nice." Sharpay softly voiced as she looked around the room. Already, there was a redheaded waitress coming their way, ready to jot down their orders on the pad in her hands.

"Yeah." Troy softly grinned and reached across the table, taking off her sunglasses, "We're inside now, Shar." He said, before he looked at the waitress, who was smiling down at them, "Uhm, you have something else than coffee, right? I have a girlfriend here who can't stand it."

"We have hot chocolate?" the waitress suggested, a questioning look on her face.

"That sounds good." Troy agreed, nodding his head up and down.

The redhead nodded, "Chocolate for both of you then?" she questioned, as she turned to Sharpay, and her face froze, "Hey!" she exclaimed, "You're Sharpay Evans." She chewed her gum in a very unattractive way, "That chick from The Sweethearts."

Sharpay didn't really reply, she simply just nodded; she hoped she wouldn't have to ask a million questions this morning. She just wanted to have breakfast with her boyfriend. Because she had one. _Finally_. "Yes, yes," she said, and giggled to the young girl, "I am, no Gabriella's not here."

The redhead laughed too, and shook her head, her red curls bouncing, "That's cool, I guess. So, chocolate for two?" she turned to look at Troy, "What do you want to eat?"

"Can I have a muffin?" Sharpay asked her, happy that she wasn't one of those types who fainted when they saw celebrities and who just didn't want to leave them alone – she experienced them more often than enough.

"Sure, sure." She smiled, and turned back to Troy, "What about you, sir?"

Troy sat up straight, not believing that someone actually called him 'sir', "Well… I need real food, not just cake." He said, with a funny glance in Sharpay's direction, "Don't you have a breakfast menu or something? I'm starving."

"That we do." The young girl smiled, and wrote it onto her pad. She then gave Troy a funny look and whispered, "Should I write down one of those for her too? She looks a little skinny to me. Can't be healthy."

Sharpay laughed, because that girl definitely wasn't skinny herself, and she was actually pretty funny. It was great to laugh so early in the morning, "If you insist." Sharpay just told her, with a smile.

"Great," she said, and took a step back, "I'll be back with it as soon as possible." She turned around and left the two of them alone by the table.

Sharpay smiled widely at Troy when the two of them were left alone again and reached a hand across the table, grabbing his, which was resting there. He locked his blue eyes with hers and couldn't help the feeling of complete adoration he got, whenever she was there. He had no idea how all this had happened. When he first met them, he was sure Gabriella would be the one and only for him. But with a blink of an eye things had just changed. And he knew what Sharpay expected from him, because this wasn't something that happened to her a lot – and he wanted to give her everything she expected. He just wanted to love her and be loved by her.

"Well, at least she doesn't seem like the type who's gonna go to the tabloids." Troy smirked, referring to the waitress. It felt nice to know that there was still kind people out there; people who understood why privacy – even for celebrities – was important.

Sharpay giggled lightly, "Yeah, there's still nice people in this world." She leaned back on the bench, and brought up another subject, "So anyway? What do you think of Cole and Gabby? Aren't they just the cutest couple?"

"They're cute," Troy nodded, but couldn't help but add, "but hey wait a _minute_! Not the cutest. We're still here, aren't we?"

Sharpay couldn't hide the huge grin that came to her lips because of that comment, "You're adorable." She told him, "You know exactly what to say, don't you?"

Troy smirked, "Well, I do try."

Sharpay sighed happily and got lost in him for a few seconds. She could spend a long time just looking at him, thinking about what she had, and how lucky she felt. It was an amazing feeling, and she definitely didn't grow tired of it. She was brought out of her 'daydream' though, when their waitress came back with their food, placing two plates on their table along with two cups.

"Here you go, you two." She told them, with a wink in her eye, "Enjoy alright."

"Thank you." Troy said, and watched her leave for a second, before he turned back to Sharpay, who was eyeing everything on her plate. And there was a lot. This was a real breakfast menu and even if she could eat, she couldn't eat that much. She had honestly just wanted a muffin. "I hope you're hungry." Troy just said, before he digged his fork into some scrambled eggs.

"I'm hungry yeah," Sharpay said and looked up at him with wide eyes, "but not that hungry." She didn't know where to start, so she immediately went for what she had wanted in the first place – a chocolate muffin.

"Hey!" Troy said, and couldn't believe his eyes. Did she just eat that first?, "That's the last thing you eat on this plate. There's scrambled eggs, toast, peanut butter and sausages, and what you eat is the muffin?"

Sharpay gave him a look as if she thought he was crazy, "I just wanted a muffin." She simply said, before she started eating again.

Troy chuckled to himself as he begun eating too. He wanted to save his banana muffin for last, because he thought of it as a dessert. He wouldn't eat it first – he'd eat the _real_ food.

Fifteen minutes later and Sharpay was bored. Troy was still eating his real food, while she was nibbling to some of the different stuff on her plate. She'd tasted a bit of each, but so far the only thing she had really consumed was the muffin. She hated just sitting there watching Troy eat when she could be out in the world; having fun. The first five minutes it had been kind of cute, watching him eat, the way his mouth worked and the sounds he made when he chewed, but one can only do that for a little amount of time.

"I think they'll end up getting married." She told him, as she pushed a small bite of sausage around on her huge plate.

Troy looked up at her, questions floating through his blue pools, "Who?" he asked her, small pieces of bread flying everywhere, as he opened his mouth.

Sharpay gave him a funny look, "Gabriella and Cole of course." She informed him with a little shrug, "They're so happy. I think they'll end up with kids and the whole thing."

Troy swallowed the rest of the food in his mouth slowly, before looking up at her again, "Sure, they do seem happy." he said, and then he figured he might as well ask her what he had wanted to, for so long now. He wasn't sure where Sharpay wanted this to go; he knew they'd be together, but what more did she expect? Did she want kids? He was up to anything, as long as it was with her, "But what about you?"

"What about me?" Sharpay wondered aloud, a cheesy grin on her face.

"Do you want kids?" Troy asked, just getting it out there. He watched as her face made a funny little thing, but then she didn't look surprised or angry or anything – he took that as a good sign.

"Yes." she just replied, and then he could hear that he shouldn't ask further questions. It was good enough for him anyway. She had said yes… what more did he want?

"Hey…" Sharpay said, and fidgeted with her hands in her lap, "I was thinking about something…" she looked up at him, to see him nodding for her to go on, "I kinda thought… Since Jack's my manager and everything, that maybe you should go talk to him?"

Troy was about to open his mouth and object, but Sharpay schussed him and continued.

"I know, I know." she said, with an understanding look in her eyes, "I know he said some stupid things, and I know you said some stupid things, and none of you probably meant it, so…" she paused, "I'm gonna see a lot of him, and I intend to keep you too." He chuckled lightly and she couldn't help but smile, "Therefore I thought… _before_ we have kids, you should go talk to him. Make up. I sort of want my kids to have a grandfather."

Troy didn't know what to say. Why did she keep mentioning the kids? It was just a silly question he had asked her because he wanted to know where she stood. Now she kept on talking about them. Not that it mattered or anything, it was just… weird.

"So… Is that something you'd think about doing?" Sharpay finally questioned; wanting to have an answer.

Troy nodded softly, knowing how important this was for her. And it meant a lot to him too. She was right. Everything had turned out alright now, so maybe his father would consider talking to him. He knew he had screwed up back then, but things were good now, so he hoped they could work it out, "Yeah," He said with a slight smile, "yeah, I want to do."

Sharpay broke into a huge smile – it reached all the way to her eyes, "Great." She said, and leaned across the table, placing a deep, long kiss on his lips, before pulling away from a smiling Troy; sitting back on the bench, "You should do it as soon as possible."

--

Cole had never thought it was possibly to be this happy. He was truly happy for the first time in a very long time. He had a great job, a great apartment and a great girlfriend. And it was particularly that girlfriend that did the trick.

The minute he had laid eyes on Gabriella on the front-cover of a magazine, he felt she had something. Where many people spoke of Sharpay because she was blonde and she was the crazy one who always goofed off, he immediately liked Gabriella. When he heard he was going to meet with them about shooting that documentary he felt quite nervous. He hadn't known why, but he did.

When she stepped into the room that faithful morning, he knew why he had felt nervous. He had a crush on a celebrity. It was something a lot of people had; they felt attracted to celebrities because they were unattainable and very beautiful. But when he met her and really got to look at her and talk to her, he knew it wasn't just a crush. How someone can like someone they don't know _that_ much, he would never get. But it was like the nerdy guy in high school, liking the school's princess. He felt like that nerdy guy, and Gabriella… Gabriella she was truly the princess.

When the documentary didn't work out, he hadn't thought much more about it. He still liked to follow her stories in the magazines and see how things worked out for his favourite celebrity. He had wished to be Troy Bolton – the guy who held her hand in public, but then when they broke up, he had wished to kill Troy Bolton for hurting her. He had really felt her pain, in some weird way. His friends thought he was crazy; having this obsession, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't let go of it. It was nice to have something to hold on to like that.

But that day when he saw her again… He had decided to take a chance. He had decided that he would do anything to get her to go on a date with him. And if he ever was lucky enough to actually date her, he swore he wouldn't hurt her like a certain brown haired-blue eyed boy. And he _was _that lucky. She did want to date him and he did treat her right. Never would he hurt her. That was for sure.

And he never had. He had gotten to know her instead. Learned everything about her; met her family and come to love them. But mostly he just loved her. She was perfect in his eyes. She had the perfect smile. Her eyes were the most amazing brown he had ever seen. He loved the way her hair curled and the way she smiled. Even all her imperfections were perfect and he loved her for them. He often told her so too, and she knew it. She loved him too, she told him that.

But there was always something wrong. She never really seemed truly happy. She reassured him that it wasn't him and that he shouldn't be worried. She told him that there was nothing he could do, and that it was something she had to work out herself. He knew what was up though. It was the loss of her lifetime best friend. Cole knew she must have felt awful, losing a best friend like that. It's something you can never get back.

Eventually she did tell him. He listened to the entire story from her point of view. He hated Sharpay and Troy for hurting her, but he could also tell that she was over it. She wasn't hurt by that; she was over it, she was happy now. She was only hurt because she didn't have her best friend and she didn't sing in a duo anymore – it was only her. And she was sad about that.

And now when The Sweethearts were back together she was happy. He could tell, the day they met Sharpay again, that a lot of emotions were going through her body, but mostly it was happiness, when the two of them sang together after so long. And when she had made that call to Troy to get him and Sharpay back together, Cole knew that everything was falling into place. He was totally sure she was over Troy; he was sure that she was truly happy. She was smiling more than she ever had before, and her eyes had a certain light in them he hadn't experienced. He should be offended that it wasn't him who brought it back, but he also knew that no matter how much he loved her and cared for her, he couldn't be her best friend.

But she was truly happy now, and it was moments like these that he knew that there was only one thing that could make it more perfect. There was one thing that would make her happiness bigger than ever before and his own too.

She was sitting across from him on a barstool, her left hand wrapped around a steaming cup of black coffee, while she held up the paper with her other hand, as it rested against his own box of coco pops. Her hair was thrown back in a lazy bun and she was wearing his boxer shorts and one of her own white tees. She looked beautiful, and it was a perfect morning for the two of them. The only thing that missed was that ring…

He wanted her to have a ring on her left hand soon. He wanted to see it from where she was sitting. With her hand around that cup, he would be able to. He only had to find the perfect ring and then ask her. It was pretty easy, except… He would never know which ring to buy. He wanted it to be the perfect one – a ring that Gabriella would love with all her heart. He knew her well, but he wasn't sure exactly what she would love. He had a feeling who did though…

He was going to have to ask Sharpay to go with him. She would know. And she would be a nice distraction for the paparazzi too. He would be able to look at rings without them bothering him; it was a very clever plan, if he did say so himself. He just had to ask Sharpay when she could come. He was sure she would never miss it.

"What are you staring at me like that for?" Gabriella lowly asked him, and therefore broke him out of his train of thoughts. He didn't realize he had been staring at her goofily while thinking of his proposing plans.

He chuckled, "Can't help it," he replied, "you're so beautiful."

A smile formed on Gabriella's beautiful face, and he mentally patted himself on the shoulder for being so smooth, "You're too much, you know that right?" she asked him.

Cole nodded happily as he munched on his coco pops. He had no idea why he liked eating those so much, but Gabriella found it so cute, "What are you doing today. Got any plans?" he then wondered. If she had plans, all he had to do was call Sharpay and they could find that perfect engagement ring.

"I kinda of wanted to go to the gym all day for a work-out." Gabriella said, as she closed her paper, and placed it on the table, "I was thinking of asking Sharpay – work-out used to be so fun together."

Cole was alarmed; if Gabriella asked Sharpay before he talked to her, his plan would be ruined. He had to make an excuse and do something about that, "That sounds like a great idea." He mumbled, while the wheel started going in his head. What could he do?

"You think so?" Gabriella questioned. It seemed though, that it was more for herself than him, because she answered it right after the words had left her mouth, "I think I'm just gonna call her." She reached for her cell phone, which was lying on the table too, but Cole jumped off of his chair.

"Hey, no quick decisions!" he warned her, and grabbed her cell phone from her, "I want you to think it through completely. You never know, you might regret asking her."

Gabriella looked at him, very confused, "What is there to regret?" she wondered.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom." Cole said, and went for the living room door; he had to go through that to get to the bathroom, "You should…" he stopped by the open bathroom door, "…think about it while, okay?" he didn't wait for her to answer, but closed the door and locked it, even if Gabriella had looked very confused out there.

He flipped her cell phone, which he still held in his hands, open and scrolled through the phone book. When he found Sharpay's number he pressed the green button and placed the phone next to his ear; hoping she'd pick up quickly, so Gabriella didn't get suspicious out there.

"Hi Gab, what's up?"

"Sharpay?" Cole said, and sat down on the closed toilet seat, "This is Cole, I have a favor to ask you…"

--

Troy didn't know that 'as soon as possible' meant in the same afternoon. But apparently in Sharpay-land it did, because he was standing in front of his father's house two hours later, ready to go inside. He felt very nervous about it, but he knew Sharpay was right; it was time to make up. All that talk about kids this morning made him realize that none of them were getting any younger (even if they were far from old), and that he wouldn't want his kids to grow up without their grandfather. If Jack wasn't there, they'd only have Sharpay's parents, and she honestly didn't spend that much time with them.

Sharpay stuck her head out of his car and gave him a funny look, "Go." She said, and nodded towards the house. She was borrowing the car this afternoon for some reason. She hadn't wanted to tell him exactly what she was doing, and he didn't want to push her; she'd just get all Sharpay-ish on him if he did, "When you call I'll come pick you up."

Troy nodded and bent down to give her a short peck on the lips, "Alright." He said, and stood up too, ready to get this done. He was determined as he took a step closer to the house. When he was halfway up there, Sharpay's yell made him turn around.

"I love you!" she told him, her smile warm and sincere.

Troy couldn't help but feel good about that comment on the inside. It was just the right thing to say to him right now, "I love you too." He reassured her.

Sharpay blew him a kiss, as she turned on the car, feeling confident and happy about herself. She was glad that Troy was finally doing this now – it'd be so much better for all of them once he and Jack worked out their differences. And she was happy he agreed to do it today, because Gabriella was alone at the gym (after Sharpay had delicately shot her down), so that meant she and Cole had time enough to find the perfect ring for Gabriella.

She waved bye to Troy as she went down the street, checking her watch. She had to meet Cole in ten minutes, but that was just enough time too. She turned on the music, and was there before she knew it. Cole was already waiting, leaning up against his car, as she snatched the spot next to him.

She was about to turn off the engine and get out of the car, when she heard it on the radio. The Sweethearts' next single 'Girl Overboard', and it sounded amazing. She had completely frozen out, that the song would air on various radio stations that day. She'd had her hands so full, all she had remembered was, that the single would have its physical release October 3rd.

Instead of getting out of the car, she turned up the volume on the radio and rolled down the window to call Cole over. "Hey, C. Austin get over here!" She hollered, waving him over to the car. He knelt down beside it and rested his arms in the window, giving Sharpay his full attention. "Listen to this, it's gonna be October's biggest hit. Girl Overboard by The Sweethearts, now what do you say?"

"It's very good, definitely catchy and a sure hit." He told her, though he wasn't a music expert, but it made her smile anyways. "But whatever happened to Sexy! No No No? Wasn't that set to be your next single?"

"Cole, Cole, Cole.." Sharpay shook her head at him, like he was so clueless to say such a thing. "Sexy! No No No is so last year. Anyway, Gabriella and I have scheduled the next three singles after Girl Overboard off our comeback album, and Sexy is not one of them."

That caught Cole's attention. Ever since The Sweethearts got back together, Gabriella hadn't shared any part of her professional life with him, because she wanted it all, their comeback, to be a surprise, but what if he could get some out of Sharpay? "So what about those next three singles?" He dared to ask, knowing if anyone was gonna spill the beans, it would probably be Sharpay.

She smirked at him, but nevertheless she lowered her voice and told him; "Our second single off our comeback album is Always Be My Baby, the next one should be titled A Never and lastly we have Forever and a Night. The album should be titled Back For Good, it's not a song on the album, but it's to say that we're The Sweethearts, and we're back for good." She explained, and then she turned off the radio and the engine, as the song was over, and then she changed the subject to what she was really there for. "So what about that engagement ring for Gabs? Had anything in mind?"

Cole got up from the ground, and got out of the way, so Sharpay would have room to get out of her car. "No, I've got no clue." He said, as Sharpay opened the car door and gracefully got out of the car, and then she not so gracefully slammed the door shut and locked the car. "That's where I need your help, y'know. You are the perfect candidate to know exactly what Gabby will like. I want it all to be perfect."

"Here I was and thought I was supposed to be your distraction." Sharpay said, as they walked over to the sidewalk, where she put on her sunglasses. "I had really been looking forward to doing that, and now you're just gonna take it away from me? It hurts, Cole, it seriously hurts."

Sharpay faked some sobs, but Cole had learned by now to know when it was fake and when it was real, and it was clearly fake now. She was just trying to mess with him, but he didn't have time for that. "That's just part of your job, Shar." He told the blonde, as he let them both to the jeweller, which everybody knew to be The Sweethearts' favourite, so why should he buy Gabriella's engagement ring elsewhere? "I want everything to perfect. I want her to have the perfect ring, the perfect proposal, the perfect... just the perfect everything, okay?"

"Gabriella thought, she had a perfect everything, and it was a huge letdown, so don't aim after that." Sharpay said with a sigh, she had seen it coming. Cole was too good and too nice to be true, but he was as true as he was walking next to her right now, his only problem was that he needed to lay off once in awhile. He shouldn't spent every living hour to make everything perfect for Gabriella and make her as happy as possible, because everything couldn't be perfect, and you couldn't be happy all the time, though it was very sweet of him. "Not to bum any of us out right now, Cole, but she did think she had found the one in Troy, and she thought she was going to marry him, and then... you know what happened, so don't try and make it all perfect, because I honestly don't think she'd want that." She paused, when they reached the jeweller, and she gazed into the window, and then she tried to imagine what kind of ring Gabriella would want. She was going to help Cole after all. "And don't worry about how, when and where you're going to propose to her, because I can promise you one thing; she's gonna think it's perfect no matter what. You're the one proposing, and you're the guy for her, Cole, so she's gonna find it perfect, regardless of how you propose." She paused again, this time to point at a ring in the window. It was a diamond engagement ring, and the diamond had this blue gleam upon it. "If it's possible, I think you should get her a blue diamond. Her favourite colour is blue, but you know that, don't you?"

"So a blue diamond?" Cole questioned just to be sure, he didn't wanna mess this proposal up. He knew Sharpay had told him off before, but he was still nervous as hell about the whole thing, and nothing Sharpay could say, no matter how right she was, could change that fact. Sharpay nodded, and he offered her a smile of gratitude, a nervous one of that. His emotions were on his sleeves, and then again why wouldn't they be? "Thanks, that just narrows it down to about every diamond ring there is."

"Am I detecting a bit of negativity from Mr. Cole Austin?" Sharpay teased the nervous wreck standing next to her. She knew it was mean, because he was anxious, but she couldn't help herself. She smiled at him, so he knew it was for fun, and acknowledged it with a nod. "Sorry about that, but y'know, whatever makes you think about Gabby. If you go in there, and you search around for a bit, and then you suddenly notice a ring, and it makes your mind go to Gabs immediately, then you know that's the one. Y'know, a ring that reminds you of Gabriella in some way."

Cole stood and thought it over in silence, trying to imagine the 'Gabriella ring' in his head. "She's one of a kind, there's no-one like her." He then said, knowing it would be difficult to find a one of a kind ring in there, it was all rings that looked alike all over the place. "But I honestly don't think, that I'm gonna find a ring there's one of a kind in there."

"Well, you never know if you don't go in there and look, they might just have the ring for you." Sharpay said in that d'uh tone, that teenagers so often used, after all she was only 19, and she was entitled to use that tone. She took off her sunglasses and folded them together, so she could carry them in her hand, because they were a huge part of her distraction plan, then she turned herself so her eyes were on Cole and not the window, and she put her hands on his shoulders, making him face her. She had a huge smile on her face because this was it, her best friend was getting her happily ever after early in life with the greatest guy. "Here's my plan, you go in there in look at a bunch of rings, if you see any that reminds you of Gabs, ask about it. It needs to be one of a kind, like you said. Now listen to me, and listen to me good, because this is important; before you go in there, look over both your shoulders and really squint your eyes, and if it's clear, you enter. With you in there, it's Sharpay time." She looked him straight into the eyes, to see if he understood her, and it seemed like it, because he very discreetly and suspiciously looked over his shoulders, and as he did, Sharpay added; "Ok, so to sum up; you, ring shopping, me, Sharpay time. We good?"

Cole, who was done checking for paparazzi, gave Sharpay a nod to let her know that he was ready to get on with it. He entered the jeweller, and Sharpay proceeded down the street with her sunglasses in her hand. They hadn't agreed on when Sharpay should be back at the jeweller, but she had guessed it would be when he was standing outside again, and Cole had probably known, she would have figured that out, otherwise he would have said something. Sharpay stopped at a really crowded place; it was time to get her distraction plan into the world.

"Listen up!" She yelled at the top of her lungs to get everybody's attention on her. She hadn't needed to, because people had already noticed her in the crowd, she was Sharpay Evans after all, but even though she hadn't needed to say anything, she was still Sharpay, and she always grabbed every given chance to talk. "Anyone interested in a pair of sunglasses, currently belonging of Sharpay Evans?" Everybody cheered the words 'I do, I do', as they raised their hands high into the air, much like in class. "Then let's start the bidding at ten dollars! Do I hear ten dollars?"

"Ten dollars!" Screamed a guy way back in the crowd, he looked like he was in his 30s, and why a guy like him would want a pair of female sunglasses, Sharpay would never know. She almost didn't have time to get the first bid into her system, before a woman standing much closer to Sharpay had bid 20, and then someone bid 30, closely followed by 40 and 50, and then the first guy bid again; "100 dollars."

100 dollars? And people kept on bidding, what the hell was she gonna do, when Cole was ready to get out of there, she couldn't take that many money from a fan. Well, many money for them, pocket money for her, but she could still remember back when she had just turned 16 and got a record deal with Gabriella, and it used to be many money to her as well. She was just gonna have to wing it then, she was known to be very good at that.

Her only concern was when the paparazzi got there, because they would get there - a popstar auctioning off her sunglasses in the middle of town was juicy stuff. Where she was standing right now, there was still a view of the jeweller, and if the paparazzi snapped a shot of her in a certain angle, they might get the jeweller into the shot as well, and then there was the possibility that they would find out that Cole Austin, popstar Gabriella Montez's boyfriend, was in there, and that wouldn't be too good. She had to take her auction elsewhere, it would be horrible if Gabriella got news of the engagement before Cole actually proposed.

She headed for the tree in the middle of the square, which was basically the centre of midtown, and she knew no paparazzi could spot him from there, so when they snapped shots of her, it would only be of her. When she reached the tree, she noticed that everybody had followed her to keep bidding on her sunglasses, and they weren't even worth as much as people were bidding, but if wanted to bid that crazy, she couldn't stop them.

Word quickly spread about what was going on, Sharpay was auctioning off her sunglasses in the middle of town, and new people came to the square to place a bid, but what surprised Sharpay the most was, that they were actually keeping a respectable distance from her, and she was very grateful for that. It wasn't long either, before the paparazzi in hiding came out into the open to get their stories and pictures, and everything was going according to plan, though she would really appreciate it, if Cole could hurry up. She knew he was picking out an engagement ring for her best friend, and things like that took time, and she respected that, but at the same time she knew that she couldn't keep this up for long, and people wouldn't keep their respectable distance from her forever.

The bids had just past 200 dollars, and were slowly nearing 300 with all the new bidders, and Sharpay couldn't even keep track on them anymore. People were also getting closer and closer to her, and she was beginning to get scared of the distance between her and the crowd, so she was gonna have to think quick exit and fast. She spotted a couple of bushes about six feet behind the tree, and she looked down at the sunglasses in her hand and got an idea. She threw the sunglasses into the bushes and fled from the scenery, as fast as she possibly could.

Luckily for her the paparazzi were too busy taking pictures of the crowd going wild, that they didn't even notice Sharpay's absence, and some of them had even been bidding themselves, and they had now their heads in the bushes, searching for the sunglasses. Because of that Sharpay felt that it was safe to run back to the jeweller, since it would probably be a couple of hours, before the crowd would notice that Sharpay Evans was missing from the square, and by then she and Cole would probably be on their way out of there. Sharpay sat down on bench outside and waited on Cole to come out.

15 minutes later Cole finally came out from the jeweller with a huge smile on his face, and Sharpay guessed the trip into town had been a success, so she jumped and threw her arms around him, hugging the dear life out him, because she was so happy for her best friend getting engaged to a great guy. When she finally let go, she remembered the trouble she had caused not far from there, so she grabbed a hold of Cole's arm and made a run for their cars. They would never know Cole had been there, and what he'd been doing, sometimes Sharpay was just too good.

When they reached their cars at the parking lot, Cole got into his car and rolled down his window to have a last conversation with his girlfriend's best friend. He still had a smile on his face, he hadn't been able to contain it ever since he had left the jeweller, and that was because he had gotten the perfect ring for Gabriella, and he wanted to show it to Sharpay, before he took off and get her opinion, he just wanted some reassurance, that he had bought _the_ right ring. He noticed that Sharpay couldn't stop smiling either, and he really liked it because then he knew she approved.

Sharpay got down on her knees and leaned inside the window, giving Cole a look-over to try and spot the ring. "So what did ya get?" She asked with the cutest voice, she could possibly muster, which she used very often when she was curious and tried to fish out information of someone, and she also used the puppy dog eyes on him. Cole didn't fall for it though, because he'd gotten a Sharpay 411 from Gabriella, so he was sure he wouldn't fall into her traps where she always got her way, but he was gonna show her the ring, because that had been his original plan from when he stepped out of the jeweller. Sharpay didn't know that, so that was probably why she was trying to butter him up.

"Who says I got anything?" Cole said, trying to be all mysterious, and it wasn't much appreciated by Sharpay, she reached in an arm and smacked the back of his head. "Auch, okay, okay. But when I show you, try to keep down." He digged his hand into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a velvet box, and Sharpay eagerly reached out both her hands to grab it, but Cole got his own arm in the way, he wanted to make sure they were clear on the whole staying quiet thing. "Remember what I told you, Sharpay? Keep it down!"

Sharpay nodded immediately, but knew it would be somewhat of a challenge, because she was never really quiet. "Yeah, I'll keep it down." She agreed, as Cole let his arm down, so she could grab the velvet box from him. "This is so exciting." She said, before opening the box, and it revealed the most beautiful ring, she had ever seen. She knew it was the right ring for her best friend, because she thought of the Latina at the first glance of the ring, and obviously so had Cole. It had a thin silver band with not one, but five diamonds, one big one in the middle and then two small ones on each side of it, and they had that blue gleam upon it they had been discussing outside the jeweller. When Sharpay looked at the big diamond she imagined a butterfly in her head, graceful like Gabriella, because it kinda looked like a butterfly, if you really looked at it. The little diamonds were small and round, at least as round as a diamond could be, and how Cole could afford it, she would never know. All she knew was that it was absolutely perfect for Gabriella. "It's beautiful, Cole. Is it really an engagement ring?"

"Yep, and one of a kind too. I asked about it." He confirmed, as Sharpay closed the small velvet box and handed it back to him. He took it back into his own hands with much care, and then he put it back in his pocket, and looked up at Sharpay, giving her a smile as thanks. He turned off the engine and got ready to drive off, and Sharpay took it as her cue to get up from the ground and step away from the car, and that's what she did. Before Cole pulled out of the parking lot, he looked at Sharpay one last time. "I really appreciate, what you did for me today, Sharpay. You're really a great friend, not just to Gabriella but to me as well." He paused, good friend or not, this needed to be added. "Now don't you dare tell her anything about." The blonde threw her hands up in the air in defence, as if to say she would never do such a thing, and Cole just chuckled at that, even though he trusted it. "Goodbye Shar, I'll see you around."

Sharpay waved after him as he drove off, she had the biggest smile on her face, thinking about the fact, that her best friend would soon be an engaged young lady. Sharpay was so gonna throw the best engagement party the world had ever seen! When she stopped feeling weird, that was, but damn it Gabriella was getting an engagement party. Not a 'let's drink our heads off and have a scandal in the magazines', but a nice little get together to show how much they cared about Gabriella and would care for Cole. Other than Cole and Gabs, she was thinking of inviting Jack, of course, he was their manager and a very good friend, and then there was Troy, who also had to be there. Taylor and Mr. McK as well, they had also been a big part in their lives, and they would probably also have a part in the next chapter of Gabriella and Cole's life together. Gabriella and Cole's parents, and probably also Sharpay's parents, because they had been there since Gabby was a tiny baby. Not there was any rush about it, she would have loads of time to think about it, once she started to feel better.

She walked over to her own car, as she thought about how weird she felt. She couldn't explain, because she hadn't felt like this ever before, but something wasn't right with her, she just knew it. She would have to go see a doctor soon, and make up some cover story for the press, so they wouldn't get all up in her business. On top of that weird feeling she had, she also felt like she was being watched, and she couldn't explain that either, but it wasn't a good feeling at all. Not that Sharpay had ever minded being watched, but this was in an entirely different way, one she didn't like one bit. Of course she had bodyguards, but she had convinced them, that they weren't needed today, because her original plan was to be with Troy all day. They rarely listened though, they just said ok and they would stay away, but all they did was become invisible to the public, and they were still there, and to Sharpay's surprise they had really listened that day.

She opened the door to her car and got in, closing the door after her. She placed the key in the ignition and started the car, she backed out of her parking space and turned the car around, and then she drove out of the parking lot to be on her way to pick up Troy at his dad. She was in such a hurry, she didn't notice a blue car driving right behind her own pink one.

--

Troy stared at his father. It was so surreal to sit in this living room again, to talk to him again. It felt weird, and Troy couldn't believe it was happening. He was grateful towards Sharpay for convincing him to do this. She was right; it was about time they patched things up again. It was about time they forgave and forgot. Everything had turned out okay – The Sweethearts were back together and Jack was their manager again. It had worked out great, so it was time to do this too.

He had been scared though. What would his father say? Would he just smack the door in his face? Would he even listen to him when he tried to tell him what he thought? He had wondered about a lot of things, and it had taken him a good while before he got it together and knocked on the door to his old house, but when he finally did, he realized he had nothing to worry about. His father seemed really happy to see him. And he asked him inside. He _did_. He was probably curious as to what Troy was doing there, and he figured that maybe it would be cool to talk to his son again. He had lost his wife and his son around the same time and he had been pretty much alone since then, except clients and stuff.

Troy had barely managed to open his mouth and tell his father why he was there, before Jack had nodded slowly and said, 'I know, I know, son. I think we should forgive and forget too'. It was like he read his mind, but that made it so much easier for Troy. He was happy that his father was so understanding and he believed that everything would be good from now on. They had talked it through though. Maybe it was over and all that jazz, but Jack had found it was better to talk it through so it wouldn't come back as a problem later on.

Troy had found out his father was not that angry with him about The Sweethearts' break-up, but mostly he was just disappointed in his son for cheating on his girlfriend. Troy could understand that and he promised his father it would never happen again. He also told him that he felt like he wasn't being real supportive since he chose to get angry with him instead of supporting him. Jack could see his perspective and they ended up like old times.

Now Troy was just watching his father. They didn't even talk or anything; Jack stared at his son too. It was comfortable and Troy believed that this was what they both needed. They needed to feel save again. They had known each other since Troy was born and nothing felt more secure than the other person. So they just sat there and felt good about each other again.

Suddenly Troy's phone beeped and he got it out, seeing Sharpay's picture across the screen. He smiled to his dad before he opened the text.

_Be there in a minute. _

it said. Troy quickly typed back, okay, and stood up from the couch where he had been sitting, "Shar's here soon." He explained his father, and the old man got up too, to follow his son to the door, "Listen Dad…" Troy said, when they were both in the hallway. He had one hand on the doorknob, but he needed to say this, "I'm really glad you wanted to listen to me. I hope everything is cool between us for good now."

Jack patted his son on the back, "It is, Troy." He reassured him, "No worries. It's all in the past. You're happy now. I'm happy now. So are both the girls." He paused, "Everything's good."

A car honked outside and Troy opened the door.

"Say hi to her from me." Jack smiled, and Troy nodded, before he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Sharpay smiled at him when he came down the front yard and she greeted him with a kiss when he got into the car.

"Hi baby." She smiled, and turned to the wheel again. The engine was still running, so she shifted gear and started driving, "You two looked happy?" she hopefully asked, one eye on the road.

Troy leaned back in the seat. They definitely were. It had turned out for the best; he should have done this a long time ago, "Thank you, Sharpay," he mumbled, "for convincing me of this. The old man says hi by the way."

Sharpay aw'ed, "That's so awesome!" she cheered, and turned a corner on the road, "I'm so happy now Troy. Everything's perfect."

Troy then shot her a confused look, an eyebrow raised, "What were you doing today anyway?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, "That's one secret I'll never tell." She whispered, in her best _Gossip Girl_ voice.

Troy hit her lightly on the thigh, "Seriously!" he demanded.

She laughed, and he enjoyed her laugh. He could tell that she had had a good day, "I am. I am being serious." She said, before she shrugged slightly, and gazed quickly at him, "I can't tell you. You'll find out eventually though." She paused, "I promise."

Troy sighed. He had a feeling that it would be hopeless to get something out of her. She was probably determined to keep this to herself. Sure, she easily spilled the beans, but when she was really set on hiding something, she could. It couldn't be worse than back when they were hiding their affair. He groaned. No, he wouldn't think about that; everything was perfect now. He shouldn't dig into old lies and secrets. That was just stupid.

"Alright…" he whispered, and leaned back in his seat; he could live with that promise. When she promised that meant she would tell him sometime. He just wasn't sure when. But whatever, he had her, he'd made up with his father… everything was good, "I can live with a promise."

"Good." Sharpay smiled as the car came to a stop, right outside the city's only park, "'Cuz you and I are going for a walk, and I don't know if I could've hold your hand, knowing you don't trust a promise."

Troy laughed at her silly comment and opened the door. _Right now_ he couldn't explain why, but he seriously loved this girl.

--

In a blue car that came to a stop right behind Sharpay's pink one, sat David Hesterbey, 48 years old. He had a hat thrown a good deal over his hair and eyes; he could just watch the road beneath it. But it didn't matter – the road, what mattered was Sharpay Evans and her boyfriend, Troy Bolton.

David was not ashamed to admit it; he probably knew more about Sharpay Evans than any other fan did. He was proud of himself. He was sure she would be his in no time. She was so beautiful and delicate, and she was going to be his wife. It didn't matter about the age different, because when people really loved each other, there was no problem. Age was just a number, and they wouldn't have to hide their love for each other. There was no doubt in David's mind. The two of them belonged together. She would see it soon too, David knew that. She just had a little distraction right now. She would grow tired of Troy Bolton in no time like the last time they were together. It wouldn't last. And even if it came closer, and everyone thought it would last, David would make sure that it didn't. He didn't have a plan yet, because he was sure it wouldn't go that far. But if it did… he'd figure something out.

He watched the 'happy' couple as they went into the park hand in hand. Sharpay had pulled the hut of her jacket over her hair; probably to get a little privacy. But David knew it was her from far away. He would recognize her baby toe if he saw it. He studied them for awhile. They did seem happy, but he was sure it was just an act. She couldn't be happy with Troy Bolton. She would only be happy with him.

He opened the magazine he'd bought earlier when Sharpay for some reason had decided to auction her sunglasses in public. He had wanted to get them of course, but he had to watch out for her. And it was a good thing that he did, when she threw them in the bushes, for she left right there – to escape it all. But he'd seen her, and he had had time for a lot of things. He knew about that engagement ring her friend bought. He wasn't going to tell though, because he didn't care about Gabriella Montez. He cared about Sharpay Evans and what she was to him.

He hated this magazine though. On the front cover of it was a picture of Sharpay and Troy kissing. It was out in the public now. David thought they were slow – he'd known for weeks and they only found out today!? How could they call themselves journalists!? He'd no idea why they didn't do their job properly, but right now he felt himself grow angrier and angrier by the front picture.

He couldn't believe she would even let that stupid Troy Bolton kiss her! He hated him and all he was worth. He was going to get rid of him in some way. He would have to plan this… he would have to plan this good. He didn't know how yet, but it would happen.

He watched them as they walked out of his eyesight. He'd just wait here. They would come back to her car eventually. When they got there he could follow them home. He smiled at the picture of Sharpay on the front cover. He had cut out Troy's earlier on. Now there was just a hole in the cover. He would put his own picture in there once he got home tonight. Sharpay seemed happy though, and in a few hours she would be kissing him right there.

"Soon, my love," David whispered and raised the magazine to his mouth, and let his rough lips kiss Sharpay, "soon we will be together."

_From Stessa;__ So yeah! I hope that was okay. Again, I know it's been too long since we updated, but I hope it was worth the wait. Hopefully my writing wasn't horrible, and I hope to see a review from all of you. I hope we will be able to update soon, but you probably know by now, that when we say soon it secretly means a couple of months. I don't even know how it can take us so long to write a chapter, but ah… it does. And I couldn't resist the part about her using a Gossip Girl voice. I've been obsessed with that show recently and I am now contemplating which of my four ideas I am going to write first – it's very tough, you would never know, haha ;b and oh! One more thing… David __Hesterbey was a real celebrity stalker. If anyone can tell me who he stalked I'll get you a cookie. Let's just say… it's one of my favourite actresses, but that could be anyone. Rofl xD Please leave your thoughts? _

_From AK-tutti;__ Chapter 17 done, and we have only two more to go! It was two, right Stessa? Well, as far as I can remember, it is. Anyway, this took a long time to write, but blame it on me. Stessa is probably the fastest writer I know, and I'm like a slowpoke (you can see that on I'd Rather Be Special, which is also a Troypay ;b), seriously if she had written my stories, they would have been done by now, but sadly she doesn't, and they have become like neverending stories. And like Stessa I promise, that next chapter of Twist of Love should be here soon, hopefully, no more a couple of months. Soon means soon. Oh, and I have a guess for you, Stessa, to your question that is. I'm think either Ashley Tisdale or Jennifer Aniston, but I don't really know. I'm too wrapped up in my own favorite actresses, who are practically scandal free, except for one of them who was kind of a wildchild in her younger days. Ok, I'll stop talking now, if you review. Deal?__**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

_From AK-tutti;__ See what happens with a little bit patience? Two whole months didn't pass by, before this chapter was posted. Now that's a good thing, isn't it? I think so too. Anyhow, after this chapter has been posted, we only have one chapter left, and then we're done with this, and I can focus my attention on finishing __**I'd Rather Be Special**__ (which I have just posted chapter 10 of), and Stessa can focus on her many projects. I also have a Chadpay hanging in the air, and I don't know, when I'll be able to write it, it's not really on my priority list at the minute, so it might be awhile. This chapter, in my opinion, will be exciting, with a little bit of drama, and some good news, which really depends on how you look at it. Anyways, here we are :)._

_From Stessa;__ So yeeah. Here we are, my dearies. I hope you like this chapter, and everything that goes with it. I wanna thank you for the awesome reviews, and then I have some cookies to hand out? Remember the freakish stalker dude from the last chapter? I have a very huge, very good chocolate chip cookie for __Illustrated Banana__ who knew exactly who David stalked (you do like chocolate chip cookies, right?). It was Jennifer Aniston, whom I've loved the work of for many years, I mean, c'mon, how can you not like 'The Good Girl'?, so I guess I do sort of owe a cookie to my dear co-writer too, since she made two guesses because she knows me so well, but really… Where was Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson and Sonja Richter in your guesses? I didn't see their names and they're my absolute top three! ;b _

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own anything in this chapter. We don't own the movie High School Musical, any of them, we don't own the characters, except for Gabriella's amazing boyfriend, we don't own 'Friends' and lastly we don't own any of the songs. Although Nathalie would wish she owned the song 'Girl Overboard' by Girls Aloud sigh, wouldn't that be awesome?_

**Twist of Love**

**Chapter 18.**

_"You know me, babe, I love the good living_

_Give me something I can stick, stick in_

_You give the girl another hit honey_

_You keep me waiting and I'll keep running now"_

Sharpay sang into the mic at the rehearsals that afternoon, they were going to perform their new single 'Girl Overboard' tomorrow night, at this new popular show she couldn't remember the name of. She had been so dizzy lately, and things she should remember and wanted to remember, they just slipped right out of her foggy mind. She didn't know what it was, but she thanked God she could remember the lyrics to The Sweethearts' new single, which by the way debuted at no. 1, not that she was bragging or anything.

No, she certainly wasn't bragging. She didn't even feel the need to mention that the critics had described it as 'the comeback of the century', take that Spice Girls. She hadn't even mentioned it on The Sweethearts' MySpace, which featured their new hit single and 30 seconds snippets of three other songs on their Back For Good album, which would be out the following day. She hadn't called Gabriella either to squeal the good news to her, even though she was sitting right next to her in the couch, the day the news of the charting position broke. Nope, she had done none of those things.

Now, if you really believed all that, you couldn't have been much of a The Sweethearts fan, because Sharpay had done all of those things. The day after the news about The Sweethearts were back to charting at no. 1 broke, her and Troy went on a double date with Cole and Gabriella, and Sharpay almost couldn't contain her happiness when she thought about those two and how they would soon be engaged. Remembering her promise, she did contain herself, but it was a struggle, and she'd had many near slip ups since then, though she had been successful at covering them up, and she had gotten better at keeping the secret.

This was one of The Sweethearts' best rehearsals in history, though Sharpay was feeling a little weird, still she couldn't help but smile at her best friend, when Gabriella carried on with her part after Sharpay's.

_"Can't turn around just to run out_

_Is there any light on the way home_

_'Cos somewhere along I played it wrong_

_And fell into a world so far from home"_

When they were done singing the song, they were going to rehearse the dance routine as well, because everything had to be perfect, there could be no messed up performances, that's why the life as a popstar could be seriously hard at times. Though, for now all they had to do was sing and sound great, and be proud of themselves for doing it like that. A lot of bands and singers would lip-synch at most shows, and the only thing that would be live would be their dancing, but a long time ago Sharpay and Gabriella banned lip-synching and vowed to each other, that they would always sing live no matter what, and they had done that ever since. They got praised by many in the media for that, and they also got torn down a lot, because when they sang live, people could actually state their opinion of, whether they thought The Sweethearts were tone-deaf or not.

Sharpay sent Troy a smile, and Gabriella did the same to Cole. They had their guys with them, and they were watching them rehearse, clapping like maniacs and acting like groupies, it was their odd way of being supportive, and the girls wouldn't have it any other way. Especially Gabriella, Sharpay looked at her everyday, and each day she had never seen her best friend more in love, and she liked that.

They were about to join in together on the chorus of the song, when a weird, dizzy feeling came washing over Sharpay. You know, the kind of feeling when you stand up too quickly, and you get a head rush, and the room starts spinning? It was that kind of dizzy Sharpay felt, and she didn't know where it came from, it was just lately... lately, she wasn't feeling right, and that was the only way she could put it for now.

_"Girl overboard_

_I thought I had it but I stumbled..."_

Gabriella began on singing the chorus alone at first, not sensing that her best friend wasn't well, until she did as it was sung in the song; she stumbled. She stumbled at an attempt to sit herself down on the stage, at an attempt to let herself have a little breather before she carried on singing. Gabriella saw the unfortunate event before anybody else did, and she immediately stopped singing. She laid her mic down on the stage floor, and then she ran to her best friend's aid. Sharpay never crumbled like that, so it had to be something serious.

Sharpay accepted the hand Gabriella was offering by grabbing a hold of it, and then she let the Latina drag her up on her feet again. That had been an unpleasant feeling, losing control over your own body like that, the dizziness just took control over her body, and she couldn't do anything. When she was back on her two feet, she flashed her best friend a smile to let her know how thankful she was of her help.

Gabriella eyed her best friend, giving her the elevator look. Sharpay didn't look alright, she didn't look like she could go back to rehearsing just yet. Her blonde friend looked icky and pale, the 'I've seen a ghost' kind of pale, and it really wasn't a good look on her. Something was definitely up with the girl before her, though Gabriella had no clue as to what it could be, and neither had Sharpay, and she was the one feeling off.

Something had to be done, and Gabriella had to do it without the guys noticing, as for now they probably just thought, that Sharpay had been clumsy again or something. The Latina did the only thing she could think of right there, she grabbed a hold of Sharpay's arms and pulled her into a hug, so they could have on of those 'whisper-hugging-conversations'.

"Are you alright?" Gabriella whispered in her best friend's ear, and she could feel Sharpay shake her head in a soft, slow movement, so nobody would notice. "Do you wanna go somewhere else, where we can talk, and you can sit down for a bit? We can go to bathroom, and you can put some water in your face, maybe you'll light up a bit after that? What do you say?"

Sharpay quickly agreed and was let go by Gabriella, and then the Latina and the blonde linked hands with each other, and Sharpay was led to the bathroom, while the boys watched them leave, worried looks on their faces. Sharpay had just fallen after all, and now they were leaving the room together. Was everything okay? They wouldn't know until the girls got back to them.

Cole and Troy sat on two chairs at the end of the room, they were as far from the stage as they could be, when they were in the same room as it, and they hadn't been able to see everything that had been going on up there. They had no idea what was the cause of Sharpay's fall, and at first they had thought it had been Sharpay being Sharpay, but then the girls left the room, and they could only worry.

Of course they could just be needing a break, couldn't they? If that was the case, something didn't add up! Those girls were extremely professional when they needed to be, so wouldn't they have let people know that they needed a little break? Perhaps Troy's dad or something, or one of the people behind the show? They hadn't done any one those things, so they were left with wonders as to why the girls left like that.

"Do you think they're alright?" Cole questioned, both looking and sounding concerned, mostly on Sharpay's behalf, because she had been the Sweetheart down. Though he couldn't help but wonder what if something was up with his Gabs as well? That wouldn't be good, especially since he planned to propose to Gabriella that exact night. He had to hope for the best.

"I don't know." Troy replied, honestly, and he was just as concerned as Cole was. Concern didn't help them much, though, and they would have to find some way to pass time, until the girls got back, and they could find out what was up. "But for now, let's think they're just going to freshen up, and we'll find something to talk about in the mean time, until they get back and continue their rehearsal."

What on earth would they talk about? What did they have in common, neither of them had any clue, because they had never really talked much. The only thing Troy could think of, that they had in common, was the fact that they had both been with Gabriella, but he probably shouldn't bring that up, unless he wished to upset Cole. He didn't want to do that, Cole was a nice guy, that much Troy had gotten from him, even though they hadn't talked for real before.

Cole couldn't think of anything either, that the two of them would have in common. There was the fact, that they were both in love with a Sweetheart, but it wasn't really a guy thing to talk about feelings like that, was it? Maybe he should tell Troy about his plans to propose to Gabriella, maybe that could start some sort of conversation? Troy would at least know then what Cole had needed his girlfriend for, and he would know what Sharpay was keeping from him, because she had promised not to tell a living soul. It was definitely an idea. Maybe he could get some ideas out of Troy as well, what way would be great to propose?

"I was wondering if you were gonna propose to Sharpay, how would you do it?" Cole asked, chickening out at the last minute. He was on his way to tell Troy about his plan to propose to Gabriella, but he couldn't get himself to do it, so he had asked about the other thing, and he hoped, while Troy explained it to him, he would get the courage to come out and say it. It wasn't that he was afraid of Troy knowing or anything, he was just afraid to share the information, in case Gabriella would say no.

"Oh, that's a question with many possible answers. I guess I would go for the cheesy guy scenario, and I'd hide it on a plate under a big pile of chocolate chip cookies, and when she'd find it, I'd tell her 'now that one is not for eating', and then I'd take it off the plate. I'd get down on one knee, and then I'd propose to her." Troy explained with a big smile on his face at the thought that he would someday propose to Sharpay like that. "In dreamland she always says yes, you know, and hopefully she will in real life too."

"Yeah, hopefully." Cole agreed, smiling as well. He didn't know why, it was just a smiling kind of situation, so that was what he did. It was nice to know how Troy was gonna do it in the future, but that added another question to Cole's mind, and he was nervous when he asked it. "Why do you wanna propose like that?"

"Because it's cheesy romance, and at the same time it's personal. Hiding the ring is a classic, cheesy proposal, but who has ever done it under a pile of cookies? That makes it personal, seeing as I know Sharpay loves cookies." Troy explained with a smile again, though by now he was beginning to find all those questions about proposals weird, and he didn't get why they were coming from Cole at that point? "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Cole first led off by saying, but he quickly changed his mind and decided to come clean with Troy. He scooted a little closer to Troy and lowered his voice, so nobody would do the 'fly on the wall' thing. "Okay, there is a reason. Here it goes; I'm planning on proposing to Gabriella tonight! That's why I all of the sudden needed Sharpay's help back then, because I needed help finding a ring that was Gabriella, and I also needed her to distract so nobody would find out that a Coella engagement was in the works."

"Wow!" Was all Troy said at first, because he was taking the information in. At least now he knew what secret Sharpay was keeping, and why she seemed to get all giddy when she was near Gabriella, it all made sense. It was a little unbelievable how grown up they were all getting; Cole and Gabriella were soon getting engaged, and he and Sharpay had talked about kids already. "So how do _you_ plan on doing it?"

"That's what I don't know!" Cole exclaimed, he was really lost when it came to how. He had everything else worked out, he just didn't know how, and he needed to find out soon, because this thing was going down tonight. He was hoping for some advice from someone, but that someone couldn't be from Sharpay, especially not today when they were rehearsing. "I have a few ideas, but I'm not too sure. What do you think?"

"I'm as clueless as you about this. I mean, you certainly can't do the cookie thing with Gabs." Troy said with a chuckle, which Cole soon joined in on. When the chuckle was over, Troy brought Cole's question to mind. If he was Cole, and he was proposing to Gabriella, how would he do it? He thought it over many time in his head, and each time he came up with nothing. This was all on Cole's shoulders, like it should be. "You have to figure this one out yourself. What's your leading idea? Use that."

Cole thought about Troy's advice, and decided that the guy was right. He was gonna go with his leading idea. He was gonna sit on the couch with Gabriella and relax after a long hard day, which they did almost every night, but then all of the sudden he was gonna go out into the kitchen to get something, or so Gabriella would think. What he was really gonna do was, that he was gonna leave the apartment, then he was gonna wait a little and then ring the doorbell. He knew Gabriella would ask him to go get the door then, and when he wouldn't reply, she would have to go get it herself, and when she'd open the door, it would reveal Cole on the other side, down on one knee with the ring in his hand, and then he would ask her to marry him.

"That's great advice, thanks Troy." Cole said, patting Troy appreciatively on the shoulder. He couldn't contain from smiling, when the thought of how real it all was now entered his mind. Gabriella Montez was gonna be Mrs. Gabriella Austin soon. He saw the curious look on Troy's face, and guessed the guy wanted to know what exactly his leading idea was, but to everybody else than him (and you readers), it was gonna be a surprise. "You'll find out about it tomorrow, I'm sure of it. Gabriella will tell the story over and over again to everybody who wants to hear it, and she won't leave out any detail. So patience, until Gabriella is Mrs. Austin to be."

--

The girls tumbled into the bathroom together, Gabriella almost carrying Sharpay under the arm, because the blonde girl got one of her head rushes, and she hadn't been able to tell up from down, so the Latina supported her all she could. Sharpay let go of her best friend's arm and rushed to the sink, where she splashed some water in her face, hoping it would freshen her up a bit, that it would make her feel better.

Sharpay splashed water in her face, not only once but six times, before she finally sat down on the toilet, feeling defeated and worse than before. She would be able to live with it if it went away once in a while, but it didn't! It was a constant feeling, and she felt nausea at the same time as the room was spinning around. She had no idea about what it could possibly be, though she doubted that she could be sick, because she had the best health out of the two Sweethearts, and Gabriella rarely ever got sick, so neither did she.

Gabriella watched her best friend sit there on the toilet seat, and the Latina could only hide her worry lines, because she was sporting a new haircut with bangs. It worried her that Sharpay would bend like that, because even though the blonde had always been crazy and all over the place, she had been strong too. Gabriella wanted to fix it, she wanted to make her friend feel better, and the only way she could think of was talking to her, maybe Sharpay could explain how she felt, and then Gabriella would be able to help her feel better.

Deep breaths. Sharpay sat with her head almost between her legs, heaving in one deep breath after the other, like it was difficult for her to breathe. Gabriella hoped it was only from the shock of feeling this way, and it wasn't, let's say, heart problems. One more breath, and it was more heaving than all the rest, since it had now been mixed with tears, and a concerned Gabriella knelt down before her best friend.

"Tell me what's wrong, Pay?" Gabriella questioned with pleading eyes, as she stroked Sharpay's cheek with the back on her hand to comfort her. Sharpay looked up from the floor and stared Gabriella right into the eyes, tears in her own, and the Latina had to contain the gasp urging on. "Look at you! You're all pale and icky all over your face, and now you're even in tears. Do you want us to cancel the show tomorrow?"

Sharpay shook her head, because then she would be letting their fans down, and she didn't want that. "No, I'll be fine. It's not a problem." Sharpay said wit such a weak voice, that Gabriella could barely hear it, and then she looked down between her legs again, because it required too much of her strength to hold her head up. "It'll be gone tomorrow, just you wait. And if not, I guess I'll take some aspirin then."

"Sharpay Denice Evans! This is your health we're taking about here." Gabriella exclaimed and jumped up from her kneeling position. She soon calmed down, though, when she realized, she wasn't in any position to lecture Sharpay, all she could really do was be there for her, and then she knelt back down. "Why don't you tell me how you really feel, and tell me how long it's been going on?"

"I don't wanna be a bother!" Sharpay said, her voice getting weaker and weaker, as she was getting more nauseas. She had to get rid of that annoying feeling soon or she'd go insane, and she had a feeling that it would be gone soon, because the nausea got closer and closer to her throat. She just hoped that Gabriella would move in time, otherwise she would be covered in God knows what.

"You could never be a bother, so don't be ridiculous." Gabriella said, offering Sharpay one of her famous, friendly smiles. Barely had those words left her mouth, though, before she was wearing Sharpay's puke on her shoes, but she didn't get mad like most people would, she shot Sharpay a sympathetic look. "I'm guessing nausea is among those things you're feeling, eh?"

"Nausea, dizziness, cold sweating... You name it, I'm feeling it!" Sharpay explained with same old, weak voice, she could still feel the puke in the mouth, so she struggled to get up from the toilet, and then she went over to the sink to wash the disgusting taste out of her mouth. When she realized she couldn't wash it out, she sank to the floor, shaking her head in defeat. It felt like nothing could make it go away. "To add to my misery, I'm soar all over, and I feel a little bloated. I... maybe it's the flu or something, but I hardly ever get sick?"

Gabriella moved to sit next to Sharpay on the floor, and then she put a comforting arm around her. She debated with herself, if she should tell Sharpay, what she thought was up? Her best friend's symptoms sounded an awful lot like she could be pregnant, but Gabriella felt bad about having to tell her that. Unfortunately she had to, so Sharpay could get to the bottom of all this, and she could take a test to find out for sure.

"Sharpay, you wanna know what I think?" Gabriella asked her friend, not knowing why she even bothered, because she was gonna tell her anyways, so she didn't wait for a reply and just went out and said what she thought was up with her best friend. "I think you might be pregnant."

Sharpay blinked.

"Uh… Shar?" Gabriella questioned and stared at her best friend. The blonde hadn't moved an inch since Gabriella's comment. She had only blinked right the moment the word 'pregnant' had left Gabriella's lips. She hadn't said anything against it, declined it or freaked out yet. She was acting rather un-Sharpay-like and now Gabriella really believed there was a reason to freak out, "Don't you have any comment to that?"

When Sharpay blinked again, Gabriella sighed in defeat.

What was she going to do with this girl? Any normal person, who unplanned thought they might be pregnant, would probably freak out, right? They would probably be in shock when they realized they were only still a teenager. But Sharpay. No, she just sat there totally stunned. Something must be really off in her head if she didn't react. She must feel really sick.

"Sharpay?" Gabriella questioned, this time her voice was a bit harder so Sharpay would know that she really wanted an answer.

"I'm not… I'm not pregnant." Sharpay said, and Gabriella didn't know if she should laugh or cry. Laugh that Sharpay had finally decided to use her mouth to what she got it for; speak, or cry because she was clearly in denial. If she wasn't pregnant, then what the crap was she? "I can't _be_ pregnant." The blonde finished.

Gabriela arched an eyebrow in annoyance, "You're not a virgin are you?"

"_No_." Sharpay said, putting more pressure on 'no' that she probably should have.

Gabriella ignored it and continued on, "And you and Troy have had sex within the last… thirty days or so, am I correct?"

Sharpay gave her a 'duh'-look.

"So then I'm pretty sure that you could be pregnant, Sharpay." Gabriella finished. Not that she wished for her best friend to be in that position, it was just a very possible thing, and she wanted Sharpay to be a where of that so she could do what she had to do. She didn't want to get into the whole mess – she'd be there to support her friend, but she wanted Sharpay to make all the decisions, "I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just… I'm facing reality, here." Gabriella finished, and reached out for Sharpay's hand to squeeze it tight.

Sharpay pushed her hand away and got off of the floor quickly, ignoring yet another head rush. It wasn't a possibility for her to be pregnant. Her and Troy were too young to be parents. She knew that if you did something you would have to face the consequences but in her case there would be no consequences so she couldn't figure out why they were even discussing this. It was stupid and unnecessary. There wasn't a problem at all, and she wished Gabriella would just be quiet about it, "I'm not pregnant." She told Gabriella, as she grabbed the sink to have something to support herself by.

Gabriella shot her a sour look – she hated it when Sharpay was in denial about something, because that girl was so damn stubborn, "You might be, Sharpay." She insisted as she got off of the floor as well, dusting off her butt in the process, "I'm just saying that-"

"I'm not pregnant?" Sharpay continued, now a happy look on her face, "You're right! _Glad_ we agree!"

"Sharpay, stop being stupid." Gabriella said, and Sharpay shot her a mean look. Gabriella didn't know which was worse… That Sharpay kept acting like a five-year-old while she was (without a doubt) pregnant or that she clearly was in denial while all the facts where there. It was a stupid situation and Gabriella wanted it to go away.

"I'm not being stupid, Gabby, I'm being realistic." Sharpay told her with a very calm voice, which surprised Gabriella; she must be sure she was right, "I'm not pregnant, okay? I'm too young to be pregnant. I'm only nineteen, so _there_."

Gabriella shook her head, crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently into the floor, "That's not a good enough reason for me, Sharpay."

"Well yeah…" Sharpay begun and pushed herself away from the sink again, completely ignoring how uncomfortable she felt, "That's the one you're gonna get!" she gave Gabriella a look before she turned on her heel and marched towards the door to get out of there. She didn't want to face the facts, and by being with Gabriella she would have to, so she just wanted to get out. She hoped Gabriella would just let it go and let her be, but of course the Latina wouldn't – she reached a hand out and grabbed Sharpay's wrist tightly, to keep the blonde inside the bathroom.

As Sharpay turned around to object, Gabriella spoke, "I want you to do one thing for me." she said, and her eyes went as deeply into Sharpay's brown ones as they could – and that was very far.

Sharpay sighed. If she did this then maybe Gabriella would leave her alone and realize that she was wrong. It was worth a try, "Sure." She said, and she could see Gabriella sigh in relief, "I'll do anything. I promise"

"Take a pregnancy test."

The words slipped out of Gabriella's mouth and Sharpay felt her mouth go dry. If she took a pregnancy test she would have to deal with whatever answer came up, and that was something she definitely didn't want to do. She could do anything, really, she could… except _that_.

"A promise is a promise, you know that." Gabriella informed her in such a sweet, innocent voice, which Sharpay knew, by the way, was totally not her real self and she only used it when she was either winning an argument, trying to talk people into doing something they didn't want, or sweet-talking to either babies or animals.

Sharpay sighed and stared at the floor in objection, but she knew she had lost this battle, "Fine." She mumbled, before she turned around on her heel again, and this time, Gabriella did let her go.

--

"How much time left?" Sharpay questioned.

"Thirty seconds." Gabriella replied as she checked her watch, even if she could have told the time left without checking since she had been counting down inside her head. She was sitting on the toilet seat, chills rushing all over her body. She felt rather nauseous because of her nerves and she was pretty sure that she was sweating like a pig and she shouldn't lift her arms. She had troubles finding her breath because she didn't want to know this answer.

And then she couldn't help but think… That if she felt this way, how wouldn't Sharpay be feeling right this second? The blonde Sweetheart leaned against the wall, arms crossed firmly across her chest. She looked more nervous than Gabriella had ever seen her, and she was probably anxious to see the result. She had objected even further when Taylor had showed up earlier with the pregnancy test (for many good reasons neither Sharpay herself nor Gabriella could buy one, since The Sweethearts buying a pregnancy test would cause the tabloids to go crazy), but the black beauty and the Latina had convinced her to take one like she had promised, and it turned out that the blonde was actually rather nervous about the results even if she was convinced she was too young to be a mother.

Speaking of Taylor; she was in the kitchen right now, heating up some water so they could get some tea once the whole test-taking was over, and she had made them promise that they wouldn't check the result before she was back in there.

"Gabriella?" Sharpay whimpered and raised her eyes to meet her friend's, "I don't feel too good…" she lowly said.

Gabriella could feel her eyes bulge out of her head and she quickly jumped off of the toilet and opened the lit, just as Sharpay bounced forward and knelt down in front of it and started to puke up the lunch they ate about two hours ago. Gabriella scrunched her face up in disgust and turned away from the sight; just the smell of vomit made her want to throw up too, it was rather unpleasant.

Taylor appeared in the doorway, and the other girl seemed much more confident in this area; she brushed Sharpay's hair back slightly, and while Gabriella would have wanted to be the one to do that, she had done so a lot lately for Sharpay and it was nice to get a break. She would do anything for Sharpay, though.

"Nerves?" Taylor questioned when Sharpay pulled back and leaned herself against the nearby cupboard, while she brushed off her mouth with the back of her hand, as Taylor reached for some paper towels, "You'll be alright, Sharpay." She continued and gave the blonde the paper, so she could get cleaner.

As Sharpay started to wipe off her mouth, Gabriella took a step closer to Taylor and reached up on her toes to speak to her, "It's not nerves, it's morning sickness in the afternoon."

"No, it's nerves." Sharpay mumbled as she threw the paper towels into the toilet and reached a hand out to flush it. She shot Gabriella a stare and pulled herself up from the floor. "It has got to be done now, right?" she whispered, and Gabriella had to admit, she looked rather uncomfortable. This was the matter of her whole future (maybe even her career?), so of course she would be scared. But Gabriella knew it would be okay. No matter what happened, they would always be there for her, and she knew Troy would too, because he was a good guy like that.

Gabriella felt herself nod as she checked her watch again, even if she knew by heart that more than a minute had passed since it was time, "You go ahead, Shar. Take a look." She said. Her heart started to beat like crazy and her eyes fell on Taylor, who looked rather nervous too. It was funny – Gabriella had always had a feeling, by meeting Taylor a few times, that she wasn't one to get nervous like that. But she guessed anyone would be.

Sharpay clenched her jaw and gave first Gabriella's hand a squeeze, then Taylor's, before she took a step towards the sink where the test rested, with the front down. She lifted it slowly up and studied it for a few seconds, before she looked up at Taylor, who had the box in her hands, after taking it. "What's it supposed to look like?" she whispered.

"That's depending on whether you want to be pregnant or not." Taylor replied and looked up at Sharpay quickly, before at the back of the box again.

Gabriella let out a deep breath, "What colour is it, Shar?" she asked. This was getting too much; she had to know whether or not she'd soon be an aunt.

Sharpay pretty much ignored her question and looked at Taylor again, "What if I'm pregnant?" she asked her, voice quivering more than Gabriella had ever heard it quiver before, "What colour is it supposed to be if I'm pregnant?"

"It's supposed to be blue." Taylor said, sounding rather bored. She looked up at Sharpay again and threw the box into the sink. She probably just wanted to know the result, much like Gabriella just did.

Sharpay looked at the test again and Gabriella watched as her face went from emotionless and to stiff. Ohh… That couldn't be good news, could it? Then the question was just, whether she was sad that she was pregnant, or sad that she wasn't pregnant, because she had figured out she might actually want this baby?

"It's blue."

Gabriella swore that her heart stopped for a second. Blue. Blue? BLUE!? It was friggen blue! "Didn't Taylor just…" she trailed off and her look went to Taylor, who now smiled like a complete idiot and nodded her head to match the smile, "You're… it's blue? You're pregnant?"

Sharpay turned the test around so they could both see the clear, blue line across it. It was blue. She was really pregnant. Gabriella didn't know what to feel. So far it had only been a possibility, but now it was actually true. They were having a baby. Troy and Sharpay would be parents, and Gabriella would have a little person to love so, so much. It was surreal. It was… weird. It was weird to think of.

"Wow!" Taylor said and smiled warmly at Sharpay, "You're pregnant, Sharpay! Congratulations!"

Sharpay's face scrunched up in confusion, before she shot Taylor a sour look, "What? No, Taylor! _No_ 'congratulations'!" she threw the damn test in the sink alongside the box and closed her eyes tightly, before looking at them again, "This isn't good, you guys! It's bad! It's very, very bad! I told myself I wouldn't be pregnant! I'm only nineteen. For Christ's sake!"

Gabriella felt her throat tighten as she took a step forward and calmly placed a hand on Sharpay's shoulder, "I'm very sorry, Shar…" she whispered and looked the blonde deeply in the eyes, "But don't you think that this could be a good thing?"

Sharpay shook her head and swallowed loudly, "How Gabriella?" she asked, a sad look across her face, "How's this a good thing? I'm in the middle of my career! I don't have time for this right now."

Taylor butted in, this time much calmer, "You'll make time for this, Sharpay. It happened to one of my father's clients too, okay? Sometimes things come up, even for celebrities, and they need time." she glanced quickly at Gabriella, "And I'm sure Gabriella won't run off and find a new Sweetheart while you're gone. She'll wait for you, I know that."

"Of course, Sharpay!" Gabriella said, when she realized that that might be what bugged the blonde, "You're my best friend. You're one part of The Sweethearts. No one can replace you, and we'll make this work, okay?"

Sharpay seemed to warm up more and more as they spoke to her about this. She couldn't help but smile lightly when Gabriella placed a hand on her still flat stomach, "You really think that this might be a good thing?" she asked them both. Her brown eyes were filled with fear, but somewhere in those deep pools, Gabriella did see happiness.

"It's a wonderful thing!" Gabriella said and tried to sound as convincing as possible, because even if this was an amazing thing, there were still other things they needed to sort through and not all of them would be good in the same way.

"It's amazing." Taylor contributed with her point of view.

"And Troy will be so very happy." Gabriella softly finished, and this she meant. She knew Troy would dance around in joy for this. She knew him so well (after all, they did use to date, which she preferred not to think much about), and he wanted a family – especially with Sharpay because he loved her so much. They might be young, but he'd stand by her.

Sharpay scrunched her nose up, "Do you really think he will?" she questioned.

"Oh my God, are you kiddin' me!?" Taylor exclaimed, a chuckle streaming through her voice, "He'll be thrilled! He loves you, Sharpay, he does."

Gabriella nodded in agreement and moved her hand from Sharpay's stomach when Sharpay's own came down to rest there in search for her baby, "Yeah…" she whispered and smiled warmly at them both, "This'll be a good thing. And you know why?"

"Why?" Gabriella whispered, a happy smile coming to her lips too, and she saw that Taylor had one coming as well.

"Because I said _so_." Sharpay finished and glanced down at her stomach in wonderment.

Taylor placed an arm around Gabriella's shoulder just as the kettle went off in the kitchen.

--

Sharpay didn't exactly know how to act around Troy right now. She just walked next to him and hugged her secret. Of course it wasn't much of a secret since both Gabriella and Taylor knew about it, but Troy still didn't know and it kind of weirded her out. She wanted to tell him, she really did. It just wasn't as easy as that. How do you say such thing? How do you break the news to your boyfriend that you'll be young parents? She knew she had known him for a rather long time, but they had just gotten back together and she knew that he would have waited with children until they had gotten married, if he had been able to choose. She knew though, that they'd never get rid of the baby. That just wasn't an option, so they'd have to deal no matter what. It comforted her though, that she knew he'd be there – he'd never run off, that was for sure.

Troy couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but as they walked around the park together, hands intertwined, he felt that Sharpay was acting weird. Well… weirder than usual (if that was even possible). He would have found it kind of cute, hadn't she been sick earlier that day during rehearsals, but like this it was just plain scary. She was sort of off in her own world the entire time. She hadn't spoken much and normally she spoke all the time.

She had hung out with Taylor and Gabriella earlier, he knew that, but he found it off that something could have happened between them? What could it be? Those girls were so tight friends and they rarely argued. Of course it could have been something with one of the other girls that bothered her, something they had told her, or something that had happened to them, but he still found that rather unbelievable.

She would have told him, wouldn't she?

He had picked her up by her apartment right as Taylor and Gabriella were leaving. Chad was with him and he had picked Taylor up – they had to go to a dinner party at Mr. McKessie's so they had to leave pretty quickly. Troy had told Gabriella from Cole that he would be waiting in her apartment. She had looked at him rather questionably, but with a mischievous glint in her eye (which he really didn't get? Why was it mischievous? What did she know that _he _didn't? Hopefully not anything about the proposal; Sharpay _couldn't_ have let it slip… or could she?). Eventually though she had hugged Sharpay goodbye and left on her bike, and Sharpay and him had continued down the street, aiming for the park.

And now they had been walking around for an hour or so, and Sharpay hadn't spoken once. He should probably say something, shouldn't he? If something bothered her, he really ought to help her sort it out. It would be the right thing to do, and he really wanted to be the best boyfriend possible.

"Hey… So how was everything with the girls?" he asked her, as they turned a corner and just avoided being hit in the head by a football. It was nice how Sharpay, by just being dressed in a sweatshirt with the hood up, wouldn't be recognized.

She turned to him, questions in her brown pools, "What?" she wanted to know, "Why are you interested in the girls?" Sharpay continued. She knew she was being sort of paranoid, but as their walk went on, she kept on believing that some scary man would jump out of the bushes and tell Troy that she was pregnant before she got the chance to do it herself. She was afraid that he might figure it out, even if that was by no means possible. Hello… How could it be!?

Troy shrugged lamely (he surely did feel lame), "For no reason…" he trailed off again, and they fell into another silence. He couldn't help but let his mind wander at times like these. It did happen sometimes (not a lot) that they were just quiet together, and he always thought of other stuff while. Like… what Chad was up to for the moment, what basketball game that was on TV, what dog he would like to have when he got older, and right now, well… He pretty much thought about Cole and how far he was with this proposal.

Cole had politely asked him earlier if he could keep Sharpay out of Gabriella's apartment for the evening. It was a rather good question, actually, since those girls hung around each other pretty much 24/7. That was also why he had decided they should go for a walk. At least if they were at the park, Sharpay wouldn't be at Gabriella's apartment. That was kind of clever of him, if he did say so himself.

"So what happened earlier today during rehearsals?" he asked her instead. He had to say something, right? The silence would kill them both eventually, and he definitely didn't want that. And it was a good question to ask, since she had acted strange back then too (notice the 'too'… she _did_ act strange a lot).

She stopped for a second and gave him a funny look, "Happened?" she asked him, eyes huge and mouth twitched weirdly, "Did something happen during rehearsals? When was that? While I was in the bathroom with Gabby!?" she hit him lightly on the side of his arm, "That's no fair, Troy! Couldn't you have kept it to yourself that something happened there? You know how much I hate it when I feel left out. You're doing that just right now!"

He started at her oddly. He swore that somewhere along her childhood she must have hurt her brain. Whichever normal person would react the way she just reacted to a perfectly ordinary question? Why couldn't she just answer the question and then move on? She knew perfectly well what he referred to and that she was the thing that happened, and yet she had to go and act like this. It was completely ridiculous.

"Don't you realize how completely stupid you're sounding right now, babe?" Troy asked her, trying to be as patient as possible, using the gentlest voice he could muster. "You _know_ I meant when you left the stage!"

"I had to pee, Troy." She said and shook her head at him, before she started to walk again, and he just followed her, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Please, tell me I'm allowed to pee, now." she continued to mumble.

He snorted, "You can pee all you want to, I don't care."

Sharpay bit her lip to keep herself from responding to that. She didn't want to say anything she might regret, because she didn't want to fight with him. She felt bad enough as it was and with extra stress it'd just get worse. She hated that he didn't know, because then he might be able to understand, but she just couldn't tell him right now… She had to figure out how exactly to break it to him, and she had to pick the perfect moment. It just wasn't easy, but she knew she had to.

She knew she was being ridiculous towards him right now, during this walk, but she didn't handle pressured situations very well. She wasn't good at keeping secrets, especially not from people she really cared about. She hated it, she really, truly did. She couldn't wait to get it off her chest, but for now she wanted Gabriella to get engaged first – she wanted the other Sweetheart to have her moment first.

"Hey…" Troy softly said, and slipped his hand into hers. She couldn't explain how much she appreciated that he just kept on trying, kept on being nice to her, even if she was being an idiot. She loved him so much for that, and he must love her because he put up with it. She told herself that she would respond nicely to him from now on, even if this was a shitty day, and she wanted to be in her bed.

"Hi." She mumbled and squeezed his hand tight.

"You're sad today." Troy said, and she loved him for stating the obvious right that moment. He just knew her so well, "Let's forget about rehearsals and everything else, and focus on you." He paused and they walked in silence for a few seconds, "You want me to cheer you up?"

She gave him a smile, "That's very cute, but I don't think you can."

"I'll buy you a giant chocolate chip cookie?" he suggested, and before she even knew what had happened to herself, she cracked a smile, and Troy couldn't' help but laugh.

--

Cole fidgeted in his seat again, and Gabriella gave him a funny look. She didn't know what could possibly be wrong with him, but he had acted rather strange the entire evening. His mouth had twitched funnily, his eyes kept moving around and he kept on patting his left jeans pocket, which did bulge out rather weirdly.

The first sign of weirdness she had noticed was when Troy told her that Cole waited in her apartment for her. Of course he did have a key, but he rarely used it. She had, of course, hurried home on her bike and found him there with dinner. Surprised and very happy, she had joined him for some regular spaghetti with meatballs. After dinner they had gone to the couch to relax together like the did practically every evening, but he had twitched and moved and looked uncomfortable, so eventually Gabriella had moved away from him since she wanted to lie comfortably.

She wanted to ask him what was up, but she also knew she shouldn't. He was a big guy, he'd tell her when he needed to. He had been strange a lot lately, though, and it worried her, but she wanted him to come to her. He probably wouldn't tell her anyway because he was a guy like that, and he sorted out his own problems.

Gabriella just focused on the TV again. _Friends_ was on (when was that _not _on?), and it was the last episode of the sixth season, 'The One With the Proposal'. Gabriella had watched this enough times to know that when Chandler asked Monica to marry him, it was really beautiful – she cried the first time (and probably also the second and the third) she watched it, and it just never got old.

"_Okay!_"Chandler said, as he got down on one knee, just like Monica was, and Gabriella felt herself hold her breath – this was the moment!,"_Okay! Okay! Oh God, I thought… Wait a minute, I-I can do this… I thought that it mattered what I said or where I said it. Then I realized the only thing that matters is that you, you make me happier than I ever thought I could be._" He started to cry and Gabriella felt herself being pulled in even further, "_And if you'll let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way. Monica, will you marry me?_"

As Monica said yes, Gabriella turned to Cole, "Was that not the most perfect proposal?" she asked him, and he fidgeted in his seat again. She decided to ignore that and just awe over what she just saw. Monica and Chandler were perfect for each other in so many ways and it wasn't often that people found love like that. It was amazing, really. She wanted to be as happy as those two became after they got close to each other. "It was so beautiful…" she reached for the remote and turned off the TV, so she could carry on her conversation with Cole, who had yet to answer her properly, "I mean… Have you ever seen a more perfect proposal?"

"Excuse me." Cole quickly said, and stood up from the couch very suddenly. He looked all hot and bothered – he looked freaked out and nervous.

Gabriella felt her mouth go open, "Where are you going?" she asked him. She felt like she was being a bother to him this evening, it was really freaking her out.

"I'm just gonna…" he motioned for the kitchen and his hand went to his pocket again, before he finished with a hoarse voice, "Go get some water."

"Alright, could you bring me some juice?" Gabriella questioned before she turned back to the TV and turned it on again, after realizing that she wouldn't be having a normal conversation with him this evening. Normally she would get really annoyed when people treated her like this, but she just couldn't with Cole. There was something so adorable and childish about him this night; she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but she loved every moment of it. She wished that she knew what it was that made him squirm though, but she figured she'd find out eventually.

There was commercials – Pepsi, Marc Ecco, some trailer for a new, lame movie, a Maxfactor Makeup one, and a cell phone commercial – and Gabriella listened carefully to what went on in the kitchen, when they were over. She couldn't hear Cole out there. What was he doing? It wouldn't take so dang long to get some juice and water. Most likely, and this was if people were really slow, three minutes, and since she knew commercials took at least five, she found this rather weird.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and she sighed in annoyance. Alright, so she was too comfortable to go get that. The next episode of _Friends_ would start in a second and she wanted to catch the beginning of that. She turned the volume down and turned her head towards the entrance to the kitchen,

"Cole, could you get that, sweetie?" she hollered, and then listened very closely for an answer. When she didn't get one and there was another knock, she tried once more, "Could you get the door, honey!?" she said, trying to speak louder this time.

Yet again, she didn't hear from him so she turned the volume down and listened closely for any sign of movement from the kitchen, but she could hear nothing. There was yet another knock on the door, so she hit the mute button on the remote control, before she threw it in the couch and got off of it. She wondered what the fuck Cole was up to now since he wouldn't even get the door when he was up from the couch anyway. It bothered her because she had been so comfortable in there.

She went through the kitchen but couldn't see Cole. It was now getting very, very creepy, actually, but since someone kept banging on the door, she figured she'd have to send a search-party out for Cole after she had talked to whoever it was. He was a big boy anyway – he could handle himself, and he was probably just in the bathroom or something.

She went to the hallway and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror before she turned around and went to open the chain, but found it already undone. Hadn't she put that on when she came home? She was positive that she had. Maybe Cole had unlocked it again? She shook it off and reached out for the doorknob. As she turned the knob down and swung the door open, she came face to face with a very surprising sight;

Cole was down on one knee in the dirty hallway, but he had a beautiful ring in his hands.

She didn't have time to digest everything yet, to take it in and realize what it meant, before Cole spoke, "Gabriella?" he said, his voice filled with emotion, "Do you want to marry me?"

_From Stessa;__ Hi all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We did our best, so yeah, we hope that's enough. I couldn't resist adding in the part in Friends where Chandler proposes to Monica, since it's just the cutest moment ever. And since I mentioned in my other A/N that I love Jennifer Aniston, you probably thought 'Aha, I bet she likes Friends', and you know what? I fucking love it. And I love you guys! I wanna thank you for the reviews once more, and ask you to review again. There's one chapter left, so this is almost your last chance to say something. So please, I'm asking you nicely ;b _

_From AK-tutti;__ Yay :)! Chapter 18 done, and much faster than last time, eh? So this is quite sentimental all of this, because now as we've posted this, we only have one chapter left to write, and then it'll be all over. Stessa and I feel very sad about that, but of course it couldn't go on forever. We just hope you've enjoyed all of this, and you'll enjoy the very last chapter, when it's posted, and for now you'll review this amazing chapter. Chapter 18 needs reviews, you guys ;b. And we made a cliffhanger especially for you, even if it might be obvious, what's gonna happen next, but still. Anyway, here we are, so please review :)._

_**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :)**_


	19. Chapter 19

_From AK-tutti;__ Hi everybody :). So yeah, the last chapter is finally here. It took a long time to get here, but we're here, and we hope you'll enjoy the last minutes of Twist of Love, because we know we will. We're feeling very sentimental about this, so yeah. Though when you're done reading, don't be too mad at us, and don't hate us, because the ending has been planned since the beginning. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and happy reading ;b._

_From Stessa;__ It is here guys. The last chapter, I really can't believe it. I want to thank you all for the reviews for the last chapter, and tell you that we had some disagreements on this chapter and how to end it. Let's just say… we went for a compromise and we both got our inputs. I think it'll turn out quite alright. I hope you like it, anyway! And also… don't hate us too much, please? _

_**Disclaimer; **__We don't own High School Musical, _

**Twist of Love **

**Chapter 19. **

"Gabriella?" Cole said, his voice filled with emotion, "Do you want to marry me?"

Gabriella just stared in complete shock at the guy she had now been with for quite awhile. She tried to let the words sink in, but it was so hard for her to really comprehend what he had just asked her. It wasn't just any simple question, it was something so huge and life altering. And he just sat there, with the ring in his hands, down on his knee, smiling like a complete idiot.

And it might seem crazy, it might seem so unbelievably stupid for a 19-year-old girl to feel this way, but all Gabriella wanted to do was scream out 'YES!'. She loved that guy. She had never felt this way about anything or anyone in her entire life. And while she was still young, it meant something to her. Not even when her and Sharpay had recorded their first CD had she known that this was for good. She hadn't felt like this was _it_ – like it was the most important; sure, her career _was_ all that, but it could never be as important as love. And she had love with Cole, and she wanted to marry him.

She could see the two of them, so many years from now, strolling through the park together, their kids running around, brown hair flying everywhere. And even further into the future, she could see them together as they sat in their garden as two old people, still so very much in love. She could see her and Cole getting together with Troy and Sharpay when they were married too; she could see their kids playing together and having fun.

Gabriella couldn't help the huge smile that came to her lips as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. He had just asked her to marry him – this was it; they were for good. What more could she ever ask for? This was everything she wanted, everything she had ever dreamt of. And Cole was just… the _perfect_ guy.

Cole smiled nervously too, "You look happy…" he tried. His eyes were shining so brightly, and Gabriella fell to her knees, to be on eyelevel with him, "What do you say?" he suggested, looking briefly down at the ring, "Is it good enough? Do you wanna marry me?"

Gabriella smiled smugly at him, "I do wanna marry you… like, _a lot_." She said, and she felt a whole bash of tears splash out of her eyes. She didn't mind them, she didn't brush them away, this was a happy moment, and she was allowed to cry, "And the ring's fine too, it's perfect."

Cole smiled warmly, the love reaching all the way through his eyes. They fell on the ring again and he carefully took it out of the box, clasped that one together, let it fall to the floor, and reached for Gabriella's hand. She could feel her heart beat faster as his warm fingers slowly slipped the ring onto her shaking finger. But even if she was nervous, a huger smile broke out, when the ring finally sat there, and she could admire it from her position.

It was _beautiful_.

"Thank you…" she whispered, as she looked up at him again. Never had he looked more handsome.

Cole let their hands fall and linked them together, "No…" he said, his voice was still soft and so full of love, "thank _you_." He paused, and then added, "For marrying me, Gabriella. Thank you."

She chuckled lowly and leaned forward, pressing her lips slowly against his in their first kiss as an engaged couple. This felt like a whole new them, they were still the same old people, but they now had forever. She knew that her life was going to be great. She and Sharpay were back together again as a group, they were friends; she had Cole, and Sharpay and Troy had each other. Taylor and Chad even had each other! She was sure that they would all have great lives. The future looked so bright for them.

She believed, right that second, that nothing could go wrong.

--

Early the next morning Sharpay, surprisingly, sat in the kitchen at the kitchen table in her own apartment, scribbling down words on a sheet of paper. It was going to be a new song, and she had begun it at 4:23 am, when her morning sickness woke her up, and she suddenly felt the inspiration. Her life had been an emotional rollercoaster in the past year, and some of those emotions had to be written down on some paper.

She had a huge glass of skimmed milk by her side, every now and then taking a sip of it. She was so tired, she had been up for hours, and at that point, even though she hated it, coffee sounded pretty good to her, but if she ever were to try that horrible beverage, it shouldn't be when she was pregnant, so she could risk the health of her baby.

Her baby, Sharpay smiled to herself, whenever that thought struck her mind. Her baby, it was amazing to think about, now that she had digested it, but she was still reluctant to tell Troy, even though she should. How did you tell something like that to someone? Easiest would be to call him right then, but no matter how easy it seemed, one didn't do these kind of things over the phone, that much she knew!

The song was about secrets, obviously, due to all the secrets she'd had to keep over the past years, and what would happen, when people uncovered the truth, how one had to pay for the wrongs in one's secrets at some point in one's life. Troy wasn't gonna be another section in the song, so she had to tell him, she was pregnant soon.

Sharpay placed a protecting hand on her still flat stomach, as she let out a sigh and reached for the milk with her other hand, she took a sip of it, just as Gabriella barged through the front door and slammed the door shut. Sharpay got such a fright from the loud bang, that she first spilt the milk all over herself, and then she dropped the glass to cover her stomach with her second hand also, as an instinct wanting to protect her baby from the noise.

"Geez, Gabs. Baby's got big ears, thank you very much." Sharpay reproved Gabriella for slamming with the door, as the Latina occupied the chair at the other end of the table, not really registering it, because she was still floating on a pink cloud from yesterday.

"I'm sorry, Sharpay, but you're never gonna guess it!" Gabriella exclaimed, all giddy and excited to tell her best friend the news. She held up her hand to show Sharpay the beautiful, blue butterfly-looking ring on her finger, showing off a proud smile as well. "I'm engaged, Shar. Cole asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Can you believe it, I'm engaged!"

A caring smile reached Sharpay's lips, and she removed the hands from her stomach. Of course, that was why Gabriella had rushed in, in the manner that she did. Cole had finally done it, and the ring was more beautiful than Sharpay recalled. Maybe it was because of the fact, that it now was a permanent resident on Gabriella's ring finger?

"Wow, it's a beautiful ring, Gabs. Congratulations, you guys are gonna be so happy." Sharpay said, feeling herself tearing up out of happiness for her best friend, and Gabriella nodded in agreement along to what Sharpay said. "I would get up and hug you, but I'm covered in milk."

Sharpay practically jumped off the chair and rushed to her bedroom to change, leaving Gabriella in the kitchen all alone. Gabriella didn't seem to mind, though, she simply lowered her hand, so she could admire the ring on her finger for the billionth time, since Cole had proposed to her.

Gabriella barely heard the noises coming from Sharpay's room, as her blonde friend got dressed in there, she was too wrapped up in her ring, but she did look up from her hand, when Sharpay re-entered the room, wearing pink silk boxers, a white top and a blue silk bathrobe, which Gabriella recognized as hers, but chose not to comment on it.

Instead, Gabriella got out of her trance and went to pick up the broken pieces of glass from the floor, as Sharpay sat back down on her chair. Gabriella threw the pieces in the trash and was about to retreat to her chair, when Sharpay waved her over to her end of the small table.

Gabriella walked over to Sharpay's side, and the blonde reached out her arms and pulled the Latina in for a hug, forcing Gabriella on her knees, so she wouldn't damage her back. Sharpay hugged her best friend so good and long, that Gabriella's knees started to hurt, so she had to break off the hug, so she could get back on her feet and back to her chair.

"I'm so happy, Shar. I don't think, I've ever been this happy before." Gabriella gushed, as her butt hit the seat. She looked at her ring once more, and then she looked Sharpay in the eyes again. "I'm serious. I love being in The Sweethearts, and we have enjoyed lots of success, enough so I'll never have to work again, if I didn't want to, and we'll enjoy a lot more success in the future as well, but it isn't forever. I think we both know that, unfortunately, but this, my future with Cole, it's forever, and I can't possibly feel more joy, than I do now." Gabriella paused to catch her breath, she didn't usually go on and on like that, that was usually Sharpay's territory, but she was in total bliss and couldn't help it. "Unless you tell me, that you'll name the Sweetheart you're carrying Gabriella, after me. That'll just add to the joy."

"What if it's a boy?" Sharpay questioned, and Gabriella just shook her head, like there was no way that would ever happen. "It could be a boy."

"A boy can't be a Sweetheart." Gabriella reasoned with her best friend, not that she had anything against boys, obviously she didn't, because she was engaged to the most wonderful person of the male gender. It was just, when her and Sharpay fantasized about having kids, when they were younger, it was always girls. Mini-Sweethearts.

"He can, if he's gay." Sharpay playfully retorted, raising an eyebrow. Nothing against gays though, she actually thought for the longest time, that her own brother might how been gay, but that was totally ruled out now. He had been with this girl named Sofia for 2½ years. "He can even wear a pink little tu-tu."

"Do you really wanna aim for that?" Gabriella challenged, giving Sharpay her best 'I dare you' look. They often did this, trying to see how far they could take each, before it became too much for one of them. Sharpay usually won. "Come on, Shar? Little Gabriella Bolton, what do you say?"

Sharpay shook her head and scrunched her nose in disgust, and then she said; "It doesn't really have a ring to it, sorry Gabs. If I do have a girl, then I'll come up with something on my own."

"You know what does have a ring to it?" Gabriella said, as her eyes fell upon her beautiful engagement ring again. "Gabriella Austin! I can't wait to be known as Mrs. Austin, personally of course."

Sharpay noticed, how Gabriella was all hyper that day, and she needed to gear down just a tad. Maybe she drank too much coffee, before she got there? Sharpay knew that her Latina best friend was a walking, talking coffee mug in herself, and because she never drank decaf, these things had to happen from time to time.

The little Sweetheart in Sharpay's stomach craved hot cocoa with whipped cream, Sharpay could feel that, and she also knew how to get it, but if she decided to get, she would also have to provide Gabriella with more coffee, and she could never convince that girl to go decaf. Perhaps she could trick it into her, just say that it was regular and have Gabriella drink it? OMG, now she was scheming.

"I want some hot cocoa, do you want anything?" Sharpay said, rising from her chair and moving out of the kitchen into the hallway. She grabbed the doorknob to her front door, ready to turn it down once she had Gabriella's order down, which she already knew would be coffee.

"Coffee, please!" Gabriella hollered from the kitchen, not even wondering why her friend had left the kitchen, she was busy with her ring again. She did wonder one thing because the thought of not getting her coffee was unbearable. "How are you gonna get it? I mean, you don't own a coffee machine, coffee beans or even powder."

"Oh, don't worry Gabs, you'll get your coffee. I have my ways." Sharpay shouted to Gabriella in the kitchen, so she could hear it, and then she turned the knob down and opened the door slowly, lowering her voice a little bit, so Gabriella wouldn't be able to hear her from the kitchen. "Wow, I could sure use some hot cocoa with whipped cream and a nice cup of coffee. It's matter of The Sweethearts' wellbeing." Sharpay smiled to herself, she was too smart for her own good sometimes, and then she remembered something important, that she had almost forgotten, and she hissed; "DECAF!!"

Sharpay gently closed the door behind herself and walked back into the kitchen to Gabriella, who laid across the table, letting out dreamy sighs from time to time, but she lifted her head and focused her best, when she heard Sharpay enter the kitchen again. Her eyes grew puppy-dog big, as she questioned; "Coffee?"

"It'll be here in 15 minutes, tops." Sharpay said, almost certain, calming Gabriella down with coffee in the near future. She looked at her best friend, the beautiful ring on her finger, and decided they needed to discuss what lay ahead for them. "Sooo... Have you decided about your future? Are you gonna be a Sweetheart still, or are you gonna be a fulltime housewife?"

"What kind of question is that?" Gabriella asked, extremely surprised by what Sharpay had just said. Never in her life, or her career as a Sweetheart, would she have thought she would ever hear that question from her best friend.

"It's a question to start with, Gabs, and I really wanna know." Sharpay elaborated, and she really did wanna know. She needed to know about Gabriella's future plans, and if it would still contain The Sweethearts, cos she, herself, was scared about the future. "I need to know if I'm no longer a Sweetheart, I need to know about my future, okay? It needs to be somewhat stable now that I'm expecting."

"Sharpay, you need to know that I'll always be in The Sweethearts with you, as long as it's possible, married or not." Gabriella explained, reaching her hand over to Sharpay's end of the table, squeezing the blonde's hand to let her know it was all gonna be okay. "Cole has always travelled with me on tours and stuff related to my career, so why should it be any different now that I have a ring on my finger?" Gabriella shook Sharpay's hand from side to side a little, offering the girl a teasing smile and sent some silly faces her way, until the blonde finally cracked a smile. "What about you? Are you still gonna be a Sweetheart, and does anybody else, other than me and Taylor, know that you're pregnant? Troy, perhaps?"

"Oh, yeah. I've made some plans about the future. I'm gonna continue to be a Sweetheart all through my pregnancy, until my doctor finds it unwise, and then I'll take a short maternity leave, and as soon as I'm ready for it, I'll be back, travelling with the baby." Sharpay revealed her plans of the future, and Gabriella really admired her best friend, because she could adapt to a new situation that well, and then make plans to fit so quickly. Gabriella had never been able to, and Sharpay continued. "Troy doesn't know yet, though, but I'm planning on telling him, as soon as I get the chance. It's just hard, because how do you break something like that to someone? I know, I'm good at doing that in the moment thing, and I am, but I need to know what to say."

"I understand, I think that's a very good idea." Gabriella agreed, she let go of Sharpay's hand, and retreated her hand to look at the watch on her wrist to check the time. She needed coffee soon. "By the way, Shar, I know you're pregnant, and I have just gotten engaged, and there are still singles to be released off of Back For Good, but I think we need to discuss our next album. Remember what we agreed?"

"One album a year." Sharpay remembered, she loved the day they agreed upon that. They thought it would be the best way to stay on top, never letting the public get a chance to forget them, though with all the no. 1's they had, there was really no chance of that, but still...

A knock was heard on the door, and Sharpay immediately knew who it was and what it meant. The cocoa and the coffee had arrived. Sharpay rose from her seat again, and made her way into hallway, where she opened the front door and accepted the fluids from the guy she had send down after it with a thank you.

She walked back into the kitchen and handed the to-go cup of coffee to Gabriella, who immediately took a sip, as Sharpay sat back down on her chair with her cocoa, taking a sip of it as well. She didn't place the cup on the table afterwards, she kept it in her hands for warmth, and so did Gabriella with her cup. At some points, they were so alike it was scary.

"About the album..." Sharpay led off by saying, taking a sip of her cocoa again, keeping it in her hands. "I have song I have written with a friend called 'Strawberry Feeling', which I think should be on the album. It's amazing." Gabriella nodded, because she trusted Sharpay's judgement of that, and also because Sharpay always wrote incredible songs, and she knew this would be incredible too. "Which also reminds me, Troy and I are going to a celebration dinner tonight with Taylor and Chad, whom I wrote the song with, and I want you and Cole to come a long, then it'll be like a triple date. We're celebrating the song Chad and I wrote, but I guess now we can also celebrate your engagement to Cole?"

"I'd love that." Gabriella agreed with a smile, sipping on her coffee, and it only took a few minutes, before it was gone, which was good. She had realized something, and Sharpay would know what to do, so with the coffee gone, nothing could distract her from getting it off her chest. "I just struck me, Shar. Cole and I have to announce our engagement, do you have any idea, how we do that?"

".com, dear. The best way is to announce it on our website." Sharpay said, as helpful as ever, and it was the way she intended to go, once she was ready to announce her thing. "I mean, I would do that, if I had to announce my engagement someday. I'll also announce my pregnancy on there, once I've told the people who needs to know about it first, like Troy. Plus we've always said that if there is a rumour that they don't know is true or not, they should come to our website, and they'll see the truth."

"Yeah, that's right." Gabriella took in Sharpay's idea, which seemed good, and she could do it with Cole when she got home, and get it out. With all the rumours and stuff floating around, it was nice to have a place where the true story would be, not that there had been any nasty rumours about her and Cole recently. "Oh, which reminds me, Shar.. You remember that magazine I get weekly? Well, apparently you and Troy have broken up three times this month."

"Wow, I didn't know that." Sharpay rolled her eyes at this information, she hated those silly rumours, but they came with the price of living her dream, so she had to take the good with the bad. "Back to the album, I went through some of your lyrics a few weeks ago, and I fell upon some brilliant ones, like Don't Let Me Down, which should totally be on our next album. Oh, and by the way the dinner tonight is at seven, just so you know."

"You don't know how to stay on one subject for long." Gabriella stared at her best friend in wonderment, as the blonde took a sip of cocoa, then finally putting the cup down, so she could cross her arms.

"Better than you."

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh huh!"

--

So their plans for a nice evening, just the six of them, to announce the engagement, panned out. They were gathered together at a nice restaurant, Sharpay had made sure they'd get a private room and not be disturbed by fans; they needed their privacy this evening, it was very important to her. She had to make sure that Gabriella got everything said, and while she wasn't ready to share her own news yet (she was still very much hugging her secret), she just wanted it to be perfect and subtle for her best friend and co-singer. And of course, she wanted to properly announce that her and Chad officially became co-writers, too.

Taylor was smiling happily next to Chad; she was really glowing, and Sharpay believed that those two would end up tying the knot sometime. They seemed so in love, it was kind of scary. Of course she was in love herself, but those two were so weirdly in love – they were sweet to each other one moment, and then argued about something silly the next. It seemed to be the nature of their relationship, and Sharpay couldn't understand that because when her and Troy fought (which was very rarely), they really fought. Then it was heated and they had their opinions, and when she then watched Taylor and Chad, flipping out because of Chad who wanted to take her out, and then she didn't say yes because he didn't ask her properly, she just got really confused about what really happened between them.

Chad was glowing too, he had a hand resting gently on Taylor's thigh and a glass of wine in the other; he was in his right element and the happiness he felt inside shone through his eyes and infected those around him; Sharpay herself felt her cheeks pull up whenever she laid eyes on him.

Gabriella and Cole hadn't announced anything yet, but they were probably waiting for the right moment. Only Sharpay knew so it was a big deal to get it said. After this was announced, it should be announced on their website and everything would work out with the fans too – the friends and family just had to know first.

Troy was being himself. He had no reason the be happier than usual because he still didn't know. He was just happy to be with his friends and his girlfriend; it made his day, and Sharpay knew that. She was happy too, and when their hands brushed each other on the table, she still got the tinge-ling in her lower body.

Their food was perfect, and Sharpay was just picking up a piece of salmon to her fork, when her cell phone started going off in her purse. She let her fork drop to the table, as everyone got quiet. Who the crap was calling her now? She was with the five people in the world who'd call her on a night like this. Well, except…

She turned around quickly, hair whipping around her, and digged her cell phone up. Anticipating, she checked the screen and was happy to see Ryan's name across it. Of course he was the only person left on earth who'd call her at a time like this, and since she hadn't spoken to him for so long, it was a very happy surprise, and so she flipped the phone open with a, "Hi big bro!"

"Hey sis."

She could hear the smile in his voice, and she couldn't help but smile herself, "What's up? I'm sorta having dinner, but I'm very happy to hear from you. I've really missed you."

Ryan chuckled, "I've missed you so much too, Shar, we've only talked on the phone the past year, and you haven't even heard Sofia's voice for that long."

Sharpay knew it was very bad, but she was so busy, she couldn't help it, "I don't think I've ever spoken a word with her on the phone, Duckie." She whispered, pushing her vegetables around on her plate with her fork (hey, she had to do something with her spare hand, didn't she?), "And I've only met her once…" she sighed, "Gosh, now I feel so bad that I don't visit more."

Ryan was quiet for a second, before he softly spoke, "Don't feel bad, Shar, you've got your whole career going, and I completely understand that." He paused again, "And then earlier, Sofia and I realized… we haven't been the best at visiting either, so we decided to do something about it."

Sharpay could immediately feel her chest bubble with happiness; just the thought of seeing Ryan made her so happy. She wasn't sure what exactly he meant by 'doing something about it', but she hoped that it meant he would come soon to see her; she wanted to tell him about the baby in person too, she wanted him to know because he would be so happy for her, she knew it for sure. "What do you mean by that, Ry-Ry?" she questioned instead and happily locked eyes with Gabriella, who smiled too, knowing how close the two twins were.

"Weeeell…" he dragged the 'well' out and Sharpay felt laughter spread within her mouth, but she didn't let it out yet; she had a feeling this was good news, but she wouldn't count on it completely yet.

'What's going on?' Gabriella mouthed, even if everyone's eyes were on them.

Sharpay loudly spoke, just to make sure that Ryan would hear, "My brother is being stupid."

"Hey!" Ryan objected in the phone, while the rest of her friends laughed lovingly.

"But you are!" she objected back, before getting serious because the suspicion was still killing her; she really had to know, "Seriously Ry, though… what did you mean by that?"

Ryan laughed, "Not much, sis, it's just that… That Sofia and I are sorta standing outside Gabriella's apartment."

Sharpay couldn't help it, she really couldn't, she let out a high shriek and covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream out too loud, "You are!? Oh my God, what happened? Why!?" she lowered the phone from her ear before he had a chance to answer, and told her friend, "Ryan and Sofia are fucking standing outside your flat, Bri!"

Gabriella's eyes widened in happiness and Sharpay let her phone to her ear again, to hear what Ryan had to say, "Well," Ryan continued in his best 'I'll tell you what'-tone, "we went to your apartment because actually we wanted to see you there, but when you were gone, we thought 'where is Sharpay when she's not home?' and eventually came to the conclusion that you'd be with Gabriella, but since neither of you are here either, we were sorta wondering where to go… we're a bit away from home, y'know?"

Sharpay pushed her lips into a pout even if he wasn't there, and Troy arched an eyebrow in her direction, questions in his blue eyes, "We're out eating… I'm with my friends and Troy, I guess you could come if you want… I know Gabby will want to see you, too!"

Gabriella nodded frantically and Ryan said, "Hey, I haven't even met this guy yet, and we're kinda hungry. Where are you at?" he questioned.

Sharpay giggled again and gave her twin brother the name of the restaurant.

--

She jumped into his arms and gave him hugs and kisses until he almost couldn't breathe, "Ryan!!! I've missed you so incredibly much." She giggled as he spun her around during their hug, before he sat her down and stared at her deeply, "How have you been?" she finished, locking her eyes deeply with his; it felt amazing to have him right there with her. It really had been too long, it shouldn't be that long in the future.

"I've been great, we've been great, but nothing's the same without you." Ryan honestly said, smiling happily at her. He gave her another hug, before he turned around and enveloped Gabriella in a deep one too, "Hi Gabby!" he chuckled.

Gabriella happily kissed his cheek, "Hello Ryan!"

"This is Sofia, by the way." Ryan introduced his girlfriend because only Sharpay had met her before.

She waved at them all, "Hi."

Sharpay then pointed at Chad and Taylor, who still sat together by the table, "This is Chad and Taylor. Taylor's father was our manager for awhile a couple of years ago, and I just… wrote a song with Chad." She giggled, "Guys, this is my twinnie Ryan."

"Hey Ryan."

"Hey man!"

Ryan placed his arm around Sofia and nodded towards Cole who had his arm around Gabriella in the exact same way, "And that awesome guy sowed to Gabriella's hip must be…?" he trailed off.

"Cole's the name." Cole said, and Gabriella kissed his cheek, too.

Sharpay then grabbed Troy by the arm and pushed him forward, knowing how Troy was nervous to meet her brother because he told her so a million times before Ryan and Sofia arrived at the restaurant, "And Ryan… this is my boyfriend, Troy." She smiled between them, quite nervous herself, "Troy, this is big bro, Ryan."

"I've heard so much about you." Ryan said and shook Troy's hand.

Troy swallowed loudly, "Likewise." He mumbled.

"Why don't we all sit down and continue our meal?" Chad then questioned from his seat because who else would suggest that? He was the dude who ate all the time when Taylor let him (that was one of the things they often argued about).

In that second Sofia's stomach decided to growl loudly and she quickly covered it with an apologetic, "Sorry, I'd really love that… I'm starving."

Sharpay pulled her chair out and sat down, "Take a spare chair, I took the liberty of ordering for you guys. It just got here like… three minutes ago. Ryan said you were so hungry."

Ryan kissed her hair, "You're the best, babysis." He said as he and Sofia took a seat and quickly started to inhale their food.

"Your brother seems awesome." Troy whispered in Sharpay's ear, as he took a seat next to her, "…kinda like you."

"Oh?" she turned to him and faked angriness, "_Kinda_ like me?"

Troy did a funny thing with his nose where he scrunched it up a few times before he let it be, "Well yeah… he's not awesome like you, at all. If he were, then I'd want to have sex with him, and _believe_ me… I don't."

Sharpay couldn't help but giggle out loudly which caused the rest of the dining people to look at her questionably.

"What?" Ryan asked; happiness was written all over his face, but it was because he hadn't seen his sister for so long and nothing would be able to bring him down from that cloud.

Sharpay took a quick sip of her sparkling water, "Oh, Troy just said that he doesn't want to have sex with you.", it was said in her usual 'here's the deal'-kinda-voice, and with an arched eyebrow thrown in as well, she really made Taylor and Gabriella giggle.

Ryan just looked very surprised for a second before he turned to Troy, more confused, "Eh… same here." He mumbled, before he turned back to his food and Troy stared into his plate in shame, hating how his girlfriend could do such thing to him.

"Anyway!" Gabriella cut in, and Sharpay felt her chest bubble again; now was the time, "Cole and I have something we… wanted to share with you guys." She stared deeply at Sharpay for a few seconds and Sharpay could see how completely in love and happy her best friend was; it was written all over her face, how someone couldn't see it was beyond Sharpay. Gabriella then turned to Ryan with a huge smile, "It's actually perfect that you're here too, Ryan, then you can hear it as well…"

Ryan gave her a short nod and Taylor held back a huge grin across the table. Sharpay gave her a confused look and Taylor moved her head slightly towards her hand to indicate that she knew what was going on; Sharpay smiled back at her before her look turned to Gabriella, who had spent most of the evening hiding her hand whenever possible, but apparently Taylor had noticed… Sharpay would have thought she would, she was so smart after all, and _really_… a woman notices these things, doesn't she?

"What is it, guys?" Troy questioned, now having forgotten how Sharpay outed his comment before.

Cole and Gabriella stared at each other for only a second, before Gabriella reached her hand forward and held it down so everyone could see the huge sparkly rock on her finger, while Cole said, "We're getting married."

And then started the screaming-session. Taylor, Sharpay, Sofia and Ryan jumped out of their seats and screamed of joy (it's true, Ryan actually did this; it was one of the reasons Sharpay had thought he might be gay, earlier in life), they enveloped Gabriella in a huge group-hug and congratulated her, started asking her of the wedding and bridesmaids and dresses, while Troy and Chad patted Cole on the back in a very manly way.

"Congratulations, dude." Chad said, he seemed calm, but Sharpay knew that had it been him, he wouldn't have been calm at all.

Troy smiled too, "Yeah man, congrats."

Sharpay pulled herself away from Gabriella since she had already congratulated her plenty earlier, and gave Cole a hug instead, even if she had known for a long time (remember the _unfortunate_ incident when picking out the ring? Yeah, so did she), "You take good care of my girl, okay?" she reminded him, trying to act stern, but she wasn't doing the best job, "I'll kill you if you hurt her."

"I'll help her, bro." Troy mumbled, because he had hurt Gabriella himself along with Sharpay, and neither of them wanted to see her hurt ever, ever again.

Cole's laughter bubbled with joy, "Don't worry, guys, I'll take good care of her…" he then reached his hand out and grabbed Gabriella's tightly, pulling her to him, to plant a kiss on her lips, "I've loved this incredibly gorgeous singer since I laid eyes on her during that The Sweethearts documentary meeting."

"Thank God that thing never became anything." Sharpay mumbled and dramatically sighed; it could have been fun, but how wouldn't that have been, having to have a camera crew with her for more than a year? That'd be unbearable.

Gabriella laughed, love shining through her eyes, "Yeah, how many times wouldn't you have embarrassed yourself in front of your fans during a year?" she clicked her tongue, and talked to their other friends, "I'm telling you guys, that would have been a lot."

Sharpay made a big deal of hanging her jaw open in offence, "Hey! I do _not _embarrass myself!"

"You can be pretty clumsy at times, Sharpay, we all know that," Taylor said, but gave her a hug just the same, "but we love you."

"Yeah, we totally do." Chad smiled and hugged her from the other side. He then pulled back and reached for his glass of wine, "Which reminds me… We love you guys too, Cole and Gabriella," he stared at them, and his brown eyes showed nothing but love for the two of them, "and we wish you both the best during your engagement, and later your marriage…"

The rest of them reached for their glasses too, and Ryan then chipped in, "All your life together, actually."

"Exactly," Chad agreed with a small nod, "so this is for you;" he raised his glass, "for Cole and Gabriella."

"To the happy couple." Sofia said, even if she hadn't met them before, but simply because it was so romantic and she'd soon be apart of their amazing friendship, she'd be there to watch them fall even deeper in love.

"To the happy couple!" everyone agreed and they clinked their glasses while Cole and Gabriella kissed briefly and took a sip as well.

Cole then chipped in, "And for Sharpay and Chad of course, and their amazing song."

Taylor laughed and poked Chad in the side, "And for The Sweethearts' future success."

"And for friendship." Cole mumbled, smiling at them all.

"And for love." Sharpay finally murmured, looking lovingly at Troy, before they all clinked their glasses again, hoping for a very bright future for all of them. Nothing, it seemed, would go wrong from now on. It seemed like the future, for them all, seemed pretty bright.

--

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Twinnie?" Ryan questioned, as he took a seat in front of Sharpay with his blended coffee cup from Starbucks and a chocolate with whipped cream for Sharpay. He placed it in front of her and couldn't help but smile; it had been nice yesterday to be with all his friends, but now, when he was finally alone with his sister, he felt really good.

Taylor and Gabriella had taken Sofia out for the day because they knew that the people who once shared a womb needed some alone-time. Troy and Chad were playing basketball with some friends and Cole was working, so everyone was out, doing their thing, and they really had time to talk.

Sharpay had told him yesterday, when they all made plans, that she needed to talk to him about something very important, and for some reason he believed that Taylor and Gabriella knew what it was, because they were very quick to say that they'd hang out with Sofia; those girls could sure put together a scheme, not doubts about that.

Sharpay happily took a sip of her drink and let out a happy sigh, before she wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and gave him a huge smile, "It's very important Ry, and I'm just going to come out and say it…" she looked at him, very seriously, "You don't have any heart diseases I need to know about, do you? You don't have a tendency to pass out, lose your breath? You don't faint for apparently no reason, do you? I mean… you don't have a weak heart, and neither do you have a throat that closes itself when you're freaked out?" she kept rambling off, and Ryan just stared at her weirdly. She decided to finish with a, "Your asthma is not bad lately, is it?"

"No." he firmly said, but decided to make her smile at little, because her face got red from all the talking and she did look kind of out of breath, "But if you don't stop talking you're gonna need my inhaler…" he couldn't help but laugh when she took in a deep breath and nodded, "What's up with you, Payday? Did something happen?"

She swallowed loudly and he could tell that this took a lot for her to say. He could tell that she struggled to get the words out, she struggled to phrase herself, and he gave her the time she needed, but even if he knew she would say something – something that was important by the looks of it – he was by no means prepared of what words that would come across her pink singer-lips, "I'm pregnant, Ry."

And then it happened. He could feel his throat tighten greatly as if he was having an allergic reaction; he could feel his heart beating faster and his hand immediately went to check his pocket to make sure that he had his inhaler in case he suddenly couldn't breathe.

She just stared at him from across the table, chocolate with whipped cream in hand, and a confused and scary look across her face. Her eyes were full of hopes and doubts and worry, and she looked completely lost as she sat there. She looked like a little girl in the need of reassurance, not like a famous popstar who was carrying a child.

Oh crap, she was carrying a child!

Ryan couldn't get his mind around that; he was shocked. Sharpay was pregnant. His wonderful and beautiful and talented twin (who was more like a baby-sister) was pregnant! She had a child inside of her, she had… sex. Alright, so he had known that she was sleeping with Troy because of the disaster when The Sweethearts first broke apart, but it was a matter he had chosen not to think too much about. But now… it was starring him right in the face. Sharpay was going to be a mother, Troy would be a father, and he… He, Ryan Evans, would be an uncle.

_That_ was amazing.

"Oh my God…" he finally breathed out, let his breath go, and was happy that he wasn't in the need of his inhaler, "You're… you have a baby inside of you?"

Sharpay blinked happily, "I do, Ry-Ry." She smiled and put her plastic cup on the table, "So you're… you're not mad at me? Not disappointed? You're _not_ gonna give me a lecture?"

She looked very confused and Ryan couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head, "I'm not Payday, you're… you're gonna be a mother!" he stood up from his seat and went around the table; Sharpay stood up too and he picked her up, enveloping her in the biggest hug they had ever shared, "Congratulations, babysis." He whispered into her hair, as she clung to him in happiness with giggles all over the place.

"Mhhm, thank you, Ryan." She whispered as he put her down and stared down at her, deeply into the brown of her eyes, "I'm so glad that you're not mad. I've thought a lot about what to do and I'm gonna be a Sweetheart as long as possible, and after that I'm gonna bring it with me on tour."

Ryan reached a hand out and stroked a piece of loose hair behind her ear, "Sounds awesome. You're gonna be a perfect mother, Sharpay… You and Troy are gonna be great parents, _even_ if you're so young." He felt the need to add the last part, just to let her know that he found their age too young, but she had probably already known that, she wasn't stupid. Troy wasn't even educated yet, but luckily they'd never know financial troubles because of Sharpay's great success.

"I think we'll be alright too." She said, and nodded to him, hands resting protectively at her still flat stomach, "And oh… just so you know, I've only told Taylor and Bri 'cuz they were there for support when I took the test, so just… don't tell Troy, alright?"

Ryan smiled happily down at her before he kissed her forehead, "No worries, I won't tell a soul. That's your story to share."

She laughed up at him before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders again and jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist so they could share another great hug. He was a bit taken aback by her weight so he stumbled a step backwards, still hugging her with all his might. "I love you so much, Ryan…" she whispered, then pulled back slightly and stared him deeply in the eye, "You're the best brother in the world. I'll have to see you more often. You should be a part of my baby's life. I'll come visit at least once a week when I'm not on tour."

Ryan felt himself smile again, even if her weight was tiring him since he wasn't so strong. But he had great news to share too, that was the whole reason him and Sofia had come here to visit in the first place; so he could tell his twin in person, "That won't really be a problem from now on, Twinnie…" he whispered, their noses inches apart, for they had always been closer than most people, and some found it disturbing, but that was the nature of their relationship and he took care of her no matter what, "Because…" he stopped. Just to tease her.

She pouted her lips, "Because of what? Tell me, Ry!" she whined.

"Because Sofia and I are moving here. We got an apartment together." He revealed, happily. Sofia was older than him and she had just gotten a job at a magazine, and he was still taking a year off, dancing as much as possible before he went back to school; he hadn't even gone to college, but it was probably better to get an education at some point.

Sharpay's face lit up in joy, and he was glad that she was happy, "For real? You're not shitting me, are you?"

Ryan was happy to shake his head, "Nope, I'm not… _kidding_ you, Shar." He arched an eyebrow to remind her, "Remember your language now? You're having a child, missy!"

She was still clinging on to him for dear life, but it didn't look like she was on her way down anytime soon, "Oh yeah, I'll have to remember that…" she bit her lip, before she kissed his cheek, "Now, spin me around, please."

Ryan couldn't help but laugh as he backed away from the table, so he could move freely, "Anything for you, Twinnie," he whispered, happy that everything was coming together for both of them; happy that they were both _happy_, "anything for you."

--

It was a nice day, except for the sky being grey and the sun being clouded, as in you couldn't see it at all, but other than that; awesome. It's called being sarcastic, and it happens to all the great people, because the day wasn't great at all, and it was as grey as Sharpay felt. The clouds were dark, and it looked like, it could begin raining whenever, which would match her mood even better.

See, Sharpay had decided to tell Troy about the baby that day, but... she had no idea whatsoever, how she should break it to him. She had settled on a location, but that was about as far as she had gotten, they were going to the park. Gabriella and Cole were going with them, Gabriella for moral support, Cole had no clue what was going on, though they would be in the other end of the park, once she was gonna tell Troy, so it really didn't help her much, she was still gonna be alone.

How was she gonna lead off? 'We need to talk?' No, that indicated a break-up, and she never wanted to do that again. 'I have something I need to tell you?' No good either, that implied she had done something bad, and she hadn't, unless Troy would count her getting pregnant as bad? She hoped not. 'I've got some news?' That was the best option so far, it did imply anything bad, it was just news and it could be anything. A baby.

For once Sharpay was at her own apartment, getting ready to go to park. There were a number of reasons for it, officially because she wanted Gabriella and Cole to have some privacy, seeing as they'd just gotten engaged and needed it. The best friend on the couch didn't exactly say 'we're about to get married'. Another reason was, she couldn't prepare, what she was gonna say over at Gabriella's, because she knew Gabriella would be watching her every single second. And she was so nervous, she had to be alone.

She was awfully over-dressed; she had on a top, a t-shirt, two sweaters and a thick winter jacket, 3 pair of pants and big, warm boots, and don't even get me started on accesories. She didn't want the baby to freeze, even though it technically wasn't a baby yet, but still it was, and it shouldn't freeze. She, he? Shouldn't freeze, end of discussion.

A knock was heard, and she spun around (which was a whole task, because of all the layers) to see Troy standing in the door of her bedroom, he was smiling at her, totally unaware that the trip to the park wasn't a date, but the place where Sharpay was gonna drop the 'bomb'. She smiled back.

"Aren't we a little over-dressed? It's not even winter yet." Troy questioned his girlfriend, chuckling slightly. Even if she was ridiculously over-dressed, she was still so cute, it was all part of her charm. "And it's one of the warmer autumn days, it's not even freezing."

Sharpay moved slowly (again, the layers) over to Troy, and he enveloped her into his strong arms, giving her a tight hug, kissing her forehead. "Even so, I don't wanna be cold." Sharpay said, snuggling closer to Troy, hoping she didn't feel different to him in any way. "I hear the flu is going around, and I don't wanna catch it. Think of the shows The Sweethearts would have to cancel!?"

"Thinking about work, even in your free time? I love that you're so dedicated." Troy admired his girlfriend, who was very big in her layers of clothes, he had to let go of her, because he could barely keep his arms around her. "Now, are you ready to go to the park? Do you want a 30 minutes jumpstart, and how long to you want us to wait for you?"

"You're not nice." Sharpay exclaimed, slapping her boyfriend across the chest, in a playful manner of course. She walked away from Troy and over to her bed to collect her sunglasses, and she put them on, one is a superstar, right? "Ok, I'm ready to go. So let's get moving."

She skipped over to Troy and linked arms with him, and then they walked out of the door to go meet up with Gabriella and Cole at the park by the swings, where they had decided to meet. Sharpay's idea, she had a very childish soul.

There was a 5 minute walk to the park, but it felt like 50. Sharpay felt bad, that she hadn't told Troy yet, but that's why they were going to the park, so she could tell him, but because she felt so bad, it made the walk seem longer.

5 minutes, seeming like 50 had passed, when the park, Gabriella and Cole finally came into sight. Sharpay squealed and let go of Troy's arm, running over to Gabriella, and the two of them embraced each other in a warm hug.

"Are you nervous?" Gabriella whispered to her friend, and then they let go of each other, Sharpay nodding her head. Gabriella smiled and stroked her best friend's hair gently. "It'll be alright." The latina assured the blonde, who retreated to her boyfriend, and Gabriella spoke up to everybody. "Hey, I have something I need to show Cole at the other end of the park, so how about we meet back here in like an hour? Sounds good."

Gabriella and Cole walked away, hand in hand, and Sharpay watched them leave, convinced that Cole already knew about Sharpay's 'condition', because they were the kind of couple, who would never keep secrets from one another.

Once they were out of sight, Sharpay let out a sigh, gazing at Troy; this was it. She led them over to the swings, she occupied one, he took over the other, eyeing her expectantly. He had a feeling, something was up, he just didn't know what yet.

Sharpay slowly rocked back and forth, back and forth on the swing. She knew, how she was gonna begin now, but now she just needed to get herself to say it. It took some guts, but she knew, if she focussed intensely on getting it out, it would soon.

Troy sat still on his swing, simply watching his girlfriend on the other swing. She was deep in thought, he could see that, but deep in thought of what? He was curious, but he could see, she was about to spill it, or he hoped she was. He wanted to know.

"Listen, Troy. I've got some news." Sharpay revealed, pushing her feet into the sand, stopping the swing's movement that way. They locked eyes with each other, and Troy made his ears big, paying all of his attention to what, Sharpay was gonna say next. "I... y'know I love you, right? Yeah, so the thing is, I'm.. uhm, I am pregnant. Yes, I'm pregnant."

She sighed with relief, and then she smiled at Troy, hoping he would be happy with it, but of course he would. She looked at him, expecting his answer, but then...

**BANG!**

**-^-^-^-^-^-^-**

_Sharpay and Troy were lying in bed together on a sunday morning, when a cute little girl with blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes ran into the room, screaming; "Mommy, daddy. Mommy, daddy. Auntie Gabriella and uncle Cole are here, they say you need to get out of bed, and daddy needs a haircut."_

_Their little girl, Lucille Gabriella Bolton, jumped up in the bed to them. "Sharpay, honey, you need to have a conversation with your best friend, I don't think, she's grasping the concept of a sunday." Troy chuckled, kissing his wife on the lips, and then tickled his favorite little girl. "And it this hour? What time is it even, 7 in the morning."_

_"Don't be that way, Troy, I asked her to come." Sharpay said, slapping Troy playfully on the arm, and then she removed the covers and got out of bed, she walked over to her closet and quickled found an outfit to wear, and then she got dressed. "It's sunday, which means they announce the charts today, and we wanna know, if we're number one. 'Where Are Your Manners' is a nice, catchy song, but your dad was very sceptical, so it's important to us."_

_"Mommy is a Sweetheart." Lucille, or Lucy as they called her, told her dad, as if he didn't know, and he couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his daughter's incredible cuteness. Lucy pointed her cute little finger at herself and smiled. "So am I!"_

_"Yes, you are." Sharpay agreed, as she put on a belt to complete her outfit, and then she closed the closet door. She walked over to the bedroom door, and was about to leave to go and greet their friends, but then she turned and smiled at her perfect little family. "And Lucy, sweetheart, if you wanna cut your daddy's hair, you have my permission."_

_She exited the room, and heard her daughter exclaim 'daddy, where are the scissors?' on the way. Sharpay chuckled, as she reached the livingroom, and there stood her best friend with her husband, smiling at Sharpay, always happy to see her no matter how long, it had been._

_"Hi, sweetie." Gabriella greeted her best friend with a huge smile, and swung her arms around Sharpay, and she was forced to quickly let go, so Cole could give her a hug as well, and as he did, she said; "Are you excited to know 'Where Are Your Manners' chart position?"_

_Sharpay nodded. The Sweethearts had since their comeback enjoyed a massive amount of success, everything they touched turned to gold, and they both knew, that they had enough money for 5 lifetimes, and they didn't have to work anymore, but they did because they wanted to, and they enjoyed it so much. It was the third love of Sharpay's life. The two others were Troy and little Lucy._

_They had been worried, back in the days, when Gabriella announced, she was getting married, and Sharpay announced, she was having a baby, that people would lose interest in them, but they never did, they became even more supportive. And then Sharpay announced, she was getting married to Troy, but the fans were still as supportive as ever, especially since The Sweethearts continued to make great music._

_Sharpay knew, nothing was ever perfect, and Gabriella knew it too, but they would both go out on a limp and say, that the life they had now, was pretty damn close. Nobody could argue, nobody would want to._

_Sharpay had everything. A loving husband, a beautiful daughter, the best friend she could ever want, an amazing family, and a hell of a career. Oh, and the best manager in the world, who was also her father in law, the grandpa of her daughter, whom he absolutely loved. Pretty damn close, yes._

_"Mr. B said he'd call us, as soon as he gets the news, which should be very soon." Sharpay explained, and Gabriella smiled, all giddy and excited, and she gave her husband a quick peck on the lips, who was very excited for his wife. It was weird, neither Sharpay or Gabriella had kicked the habit of calling Jack Bolton mr. B, but he would find it just as weird, if they ever did stop._

_The phone rang, and Gabriella and Sharpay looked at it, both with wide eyes. Who was gonna get it, who was gonna be the first to know? Sharpay was, she lived there, so she went over and pressed the green button on the phone._

_"Hello, mr. B?" Sharpay questioned, and then she paused, as mr. B spoke. "Okay." She paused again, nodding as she listened to, what he was now saying. "Okay." She silenced again, as mr. B explained something, or told her their chart position, only Sharpay knew, what he was saying. "Okay, sounds great. Thanks, mr. B!"_

_She hung up the phone and put it back in it's rightful place. Gabriella watched her best friend, trying to read her expression to see, if they had gotten a good or bad chart positon, because she was eager and curious to know, she was about ready to burst over with excitement._

_"What did he say, what did he say, what did he say?" Gabriella chanted, and Cole put an arm around her to calm her down, she was nearly as overgeared, as the day she had gotten engaged to Cole, which was a lot. "Sorry, but what position are we in?"_

_"Oh, just that same old no. 1 spot." Sharpay said, as if it was no big deal, but it was. No matter how many times, they had been in the position before, it was still as great as the previous times, because it meant, people still wanted to listen to them, which was great._

_Gabriella shrieked, a high pitched one. She was so excited, and so was Sharpay. Gabriella's shriek had caused a chain reaction; Gabriella shrieked, Sharpay shrieked, Gabriella shrieked, Sharpay shrieked, and so on._

_They embraced in a deep hug, as Troy rushed out into the livingroom with Lucy in his arms, wanting to know what was up, and so did Lucy. The little girl had learned though, that when her mom and her aunt shrieked like that, it usually meant good news. Lucy was not a stupid little girl._

_"WE'RE NO. 1!" Gabriella and Sharpay squealed in unison, and Lucy got herself twisted out of her dad's arm and ran to hug her mom and aunt. Cole and Troy joined in on the hug, and they all had themselves a little group hug right in the Bolton family's livingroom._

**-^-^-^-^-^-^-**

**BANG!**

Troy slid of the swing and fell to the ground, face down. Everything happened in slow motion, the loud bang, Sharpay's fantasy, Troy falling the ground, Sharpay couldn't comprehend, what was happening at that point, but she knew it was no good. Not pretty damn close.

Sharpay's only reaction, she screamed and fell to her knees in the sand next to Troy, and it all felt like it happened in slow motion too. She screamed again, and lifted up Troy's body into her arms, and she just held him, letting him bleed on her. She didn't care.

His blood felt icky and cold, even with all of her layers, she could feel it, and she could feel his heart still going, but the beats sounded further and further apart, but he couldn't die on her now, not when she'd just told him about their little baby. What about her perfect fantasy? What about pretty damn close?

Some bastard had shot Troy. Sharpay cried hysterically, as she held Troy in her shaky arms. She gently rocked him back and forth, like she hoped, she could rock him back to life, that she could make his hard beat faster, but deep down she knew, it was impossible.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sharpay could see, that Cole and Gabriella was running towards them, hands linked. They were probably going as fast, as they possibly could, since they had heard Sharpay screaming, but what she saw was slow motion, and she had a horrible feeling, that Troy would be... she couldn't even get herself to think the word, but he would be, before they got there.

Who had done this? Who would shoot a guy like Troy, just like that? Someone who was clearly out to hurt Sharpay, because just like that, everything was ripped away from her. She wouldn't get her happy ending, she wouldn't be with Troy forever, and what about his kid? He couldn't just... when she was pregnant, he was gonna be a dad. He was gonna be a dad, so he couldn't.

Troy got colder, Cole and Gabriella got closer, more tears formed in Sharpay's eyes. Troy wanted to tell her, that it was okay, this was clearly his destiny, he wanted to tell her, she had brought him more happiness, than anybody else would ever experience in a lifetime, and that he was so happy, that he found out, he was gonna be a father, before this happened. Was gonna be, being the word. But he could say none of those things, the shock of the shot was too big.

In a strange way, Troy was happy. Happy, that his last minutes were spent, looking into the two brown eyes, he loved the most. He wished, he didn't have to go, but if he did, he was glad this was the way, though the tears in Sharpay's eyes hurt him so bad. The hurt would soon go away, he knew that unfortunately.

Sharpay thought about her pretty damn close fantasy, crying even harder then before. Her fantasy was how her life with Troy could have been, but now it seemed, it was never gonna happen. She was never gonna get her happy ending with Troy, she was gonna be an alone mom, and she would never find love with anyone else. Troy was it, and someone chose to take him from her.

Sharpay locked eyes with Troy the best she could, saw his eyes were fluttering, which could only mean, that his time was close. Cole and Gabriella still nearing, but they wouldn't be there in time, Troy's eyes were fluttering, and Sharpay was scared, but she was holding on to him, like it could save him.

Troy focussed all his energy on getting three little words out, because he was set on getting his last words, everybody deserved them, and those three little words to Sharpay was gonna be his. It was a struggle fighting to get the words out, he was so weak and tired, he didn't think, he would be able to get them out, but able to or not, he was gonna.

"I love you." They said at the same time, Sharpay's voice overly emotional, Troy's weak and raw. He looked at her with his fluttering eyes, and she knew what it meant. She bent her head forward and placed a sweet kiss, their last kiss, on his lips.

Troy closed his eyes and faded away in Sharpay's eyes. He was dead, just as Cole and Gabriella finally reached them, they knelt down next to them, but it didn't matter, Troy was still... dead! Sharpay let go of Troy's lifeless body, and then she threw her arms around Gabriella, wanting comfort, and the latina hugged Sharpay for dear life, afraid what would happen, if she let go, and Sharpay cried on Gabriella's shoulder.

Troy was dead, he took his very last breaths in Sharpay's arms, and the heartache felt like, it couldn't be cried away. Troy Bolton, the love of her life, dead.

Dead!

_From Stessa:__So yeah. That was it, deaires. I hope you enjoyed everything, it's been a really long ride. It's probably a year and a half since we posted the first chapter of this, so it has taken us a long time. I want to thank you all for the support through our very slow updates and for reading everything. I am so glad that many of you enjoyed it. And please do read more from both of us, I know AK-tutti has a HSM Troypay up, and I have a Hannah Montana story going, if that's at any interest._

_From AK-tutti:__ And we're done. Hope you enjoyed it, even though we were so kind to kill Troy, which by the way was my idea, so please don't hate Stessa. It was the original plan from the beginning, and we hope you liked it anyways, because what is a good story without a little tragedy? Anywho, as said before, we are now done, but I hope you'll continue to follow our individual work. And you're in luck, you can read my fic I'd Rather Be Special, and catch the last 3 chapters, when they are posted. Anyways, thanks for ready, and please review._

_**Stessa & AK-tutti were here :) (for the very last time)**_


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